Hi, a newbie here

[KP161]

Hi guys, very happy i found this forum

wondering if anyone can help me get some more info on this bike. I'm guessing early to mid 30's but can't find the same tank details on any of the pics in the "what have i got" section
my grandfather (who i never has the opportunity to meet) was with KNMV and was on the racing and stunt riding teams (Jan Brugmans), and then rode for the army

it's far from the greatest image but anything you guys could tell me would be greatly appreciated, i'd like to get my hands on one of these
any information too that i might get on his racing career would be a HUGE bouns (i can't find squat...)

much thanks....
Marty

[Resto-Rob]

Hi there and welcome to the family
It is very hard to tell from the photo but it looks very similar to the C32 Douglas.  The other experts on the forum can confirm this.  If so the it was a 500cc machine from 1932.  They are very lightweight as they use the 350cc frame so this would have been good for stunt work?!
If this turns out to be the bike then i know of one for sale.  You can contact me via the forum.
Good luck!

[Resto-Rob]

I think the main point of identification is the spring location on the girder forks. Two springs, One on either side of the steering stem rather then one in the centre.  The tank details are different from anything i have seen but then again if your grandfather was in a team then maybe they had a different paint job on the tank? The center panel on the tank looks very narrow to be standard? To me this still looks very much like the C32, it cant be the ohv 1931 model as there is no sign of the gearshift on the side of the tank.  The location of the oil feed glass could also an indication of the model?
Hopefully someone else chimes in with some ideas

[Doug]

The front exhaust pipe does not seem to be the right shape for a C32. More likely it is a 350cc model, an A31/A32/B32 of 1931-32. The B31 was a 'colonial' model and had well based rims; whch this appears to have making the B32 the strong contender. The hand change is within the right-hand knee grip, hence well hidden from view. The petrol tank appears to have been repainted in a slightly non-catalog specification (1931-32 would have the Tartan panels). So the picture was probably taken when the bike was several years old.

-Doug

[Resto-Rob]

I think you could rule out it being a A32 as the headerpipe in the photo is of a larger diameter.  I have only ever seen one picture of a b32 and it the exhaust looks the same as the C32. Maybe i have the wrong exhaust on my C32?

[KP161]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated

Rob, ya the main thing that stood out to me as well as the tank was the dual spring setup, and as Doug pointed out the exhaust didn't quite seem to match anything else i could find that did match the girder setup. Beginning to wonder if it was a hybrid of years and models due to it's possible use in both the race and stunt scene.

maybe a less-toyed with image could help


thanks again guys!!!! Really appreciate your help

[Doug]

Marty,

Not really a machine one would think of for racing with, though docile enough for stunt riding. Do you know that the machine he is pictured on is the same machine he used for racing/stunts or perhaps a second machine he happened to own?

As for exhaust pipes... the C32 pipe exits out the bottom of the cylinder. The A31/A32/B32 (with the older design of cylinder/head) has the pipe exit out the lower face on an angle. It looks like the pipe exits on an angle, which is why I excluded the C32. However the barrels assemblies can be swapped around making for all sorts of interesting hybrids. But one of the unique features that make a C32 different than say another B32/A32 is the new cylinder and plate head; and the fact it was a 500cc. The crankcase (and the rest of the bike for that matter) was the same as the 350cc, except that the mainshaft of the crankshaft was hollow on the 350cc and solid on the 500. Obviously this is hard to see in the photograph...   

-Doug

[KP161]

thanks for the information Doug
if i can get the pic cleaned up any better it definitely gives me more to eyeball

i'm not sure this is the race bike or even the stunt bike for that matter...i just know it's the only picture the family has of him with one of the many in his history of riding. (lemme re-check an email quick....)

pic was taken post-war, but my grandfather was a member of the KNMV sometime in the early 30's thru to the very early 50's (they emigrated to Canada in '52).
from what we're hearing, any pre-war records of KNMV were destroyed during the war so me thinks this pic will probably be my only source of a link in bridging with some history...working with what i have you might say

i really appreciate the help you guys have given me, and definitely plan to at least acquire a '32 of one model or another

my dad remembers getting rides home sitting on the tank, lol...not quite safe by today's standards ;)  i'm really hoping i can find a similar "air horn" too (not sure if you guys caught that in the pics provided)

Rob, i sent you an e-mail to your hotmail acct listed in the "sale" thread

again, much thanks
Marty

[KP161]

just did a little more digging and...hmmmmmm
seeing some similar tank markings on one of the '29 and '30 models with what appears to be the same drop toward the rear on the forward pipe
E32 and H32

gotta find it again, like an idiot i closed the page lol

i'm really beginning to lean towards a 1929 date stamp here, like the B or E 29 OR 1929 C or E 31 as per a manual i found for sale on ebay

damn, i can't believe i'm actually getting excited about this