Talk:Colin Seeley

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500 cc Solo-URS raced by Karl Hoppe

Quote: "Colin Seeley sold the frame privately, which Blanchard later bought, and using a Fath/URS engine was able to create a successful Grand Prix machine campaigned by German Karl Hoppe."

My comment: That's unfortunately not true at all. Karl Hoppe raced the Solo-URS until a few races in 1971 which for the first time was out an a race track at Hockenheim in 1968 with John Hartle in the saddle. The URS engine was installed into a Rickman Metisse chassis. For the 1970 season a second bike was assembled using such a chassis, for the 69 German 500 cc champion Ferdinand Kaczor. The first start of the two bikes and riders was the Austrian GP in Salzburg. Kaczor came in on the 1st place, in front of Hoppe. But during the German GP on the Nuerburgring the team fell apart, Fath and Kaczor angerly left. Hoppe kept on racing the Rickman-URS for the rest oft the season and he even was out on it for a few races in 1971. But the team needed all the engine spares to help Horst Owesle to win the sidecar worldchampinship. Hoppe's Solo-URS was poorly mantained, so he withdrew it from racing during the early 71 season! By the way, Blanchard told a lot of "strange things" to journalists. As far as I know the Seeley-URS showed up again for the first time in the late 80ies in the "Historic Racing Szene". Best regards Bx — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:D0:DF0B:9D00:FCC4:7246:DE15:D655 (talk) 22:10, 8 January 2020 (UTC)

Thank you for your comments. I have changed the article to read correctly. The piece you quote above is a very small section taken from Bonhams auctions at this link, and probably some of it came from Mick Walker's book - you can read at this link. You can see the image of John Blanchard on the Seeley with Rickman/Lockheed front brake (what some people call 'inboard disc' - this appears to be at Oliver's Mount race track in England) in the Bonham's link. Both Mick Walker's book and the Bonhams article suggest this is when and why Blanchard parted with Colin Seeley. I have a magazine showing a picture of Blanchard testing the bike in England with the Seeley drum front brake. The bike shown at the Bonhams link has Suzuki front discs 1977-> (Flickr 1, Flickr 2 + others). The Blanchard/Hoppe aspect is a minor part of the whole article. Colin Seeley will be remembered mostly for his frames - Mk1, Mk2, Mk3, Mk4 and for re-manufacturing Matchless G50 and AJS 7R engine parts. The following quotes are from the Bonhams website:

Colin kept the frame, which he sold a couple of years later to motorcycle racer Stan Adams, whose intention was to use it as the basis for a 'special'.

Unbeknown to Colin Seeley, John Blanchard had by this time purchased the original Seeley frame from Stan Adams and installed a 750cc URS engine. The machine was rebuilt with an improved swinging arm and upgraded suspension, and fitted with disc brakes front and rear, but otherwise remained as it had been built back in 1967.

In this form the Seeley-URS was entered for Tony Jefferies to race at Snetterton on 29th August 1971. Unfortunately, the plugs oiled and Jefferies could not get the bike of the start line. Back at Snetterton in October it was better news, Jefferies bringing the Seeley-URS home in 3rd place and setting the fastest lap. Then, to show what might have been some four years earlier, Jefferies rode the bike in 500cc form at the Brands Hatch 'Race of the South' in October '71, finishing in an impressive 3rd place behind winner Giacomo Agostini's MV Agusta and Barry Sheene's Seeley-Suzuki TR500, posting the fastest lap in the process. Sadly, that was the end of what could have been a credible challenge to the dominance of MV Agusta, and the Seeley-URS remains one of Grand Prix racing's more fascinating 'might-have-beens'.

The current owner purchased the Seeley-URS directly from John Blanchard in March 1992, (together with the World Championship-winning URS sidecar outfit, Lot 339) and has since paraded and raced it at numerous events and race circuits throughout Europe. A quantity of spares came with the two machines, sufficient to build a few more engines. These spares are offered as separate lots, so unlike some classics of the period this one could be raced without fear that a blow-up would render it a permanent non-runner. Apart from the swinging arm and front disc brake, the machine is in correct 1967 specification, though the 500cc engine now uses carburettors, and will be in running condition by time of sale. The machine comes with technical data relating to the URS engine, and copies of press cuttings and magazine articles spanning many years, including a track test by John Surtees published in 'Classic Bike' magazine (November 1991 edition).

Danke vielmals.

--Rocknrollmancer (talk) 23:34, 8 January 2020 (UTC)