A little about the British Two-Stroke Club History
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The British Two-Stroke Club was started in 1929 by a group of enthusiasts, with the intention of encouraging the use of two-stroke powered motorcycles, which were, in the main, small capacity models, in motorcycle sport where hitherto they had been at a disadvantage by being grouped together with much larger four-stroke machines. Foremost in the formation of the Club was a famous competition rider of the day, T.G. (Tommy) Meeten, a former TT rider and competitor in the Scottish and International Six Days Trials. Having been impressed by the performance of a diminutive Francis Barnett model, which he had ridden in a trial (without any great expectations of it), he thereafter chose to campaign two-stroke machines in preference to much larger four-strokes, which would undoubtedly have been available to him and which would, arguably, have brought him more recognition for his achievements, in the history books. |
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For many years the British Two-Stroke Club was based at T.G's motorcycle shop, originally at Dorking in Surrey and subsequently (as Meetens Motorcycle Mecca) at Shannon Corner, New Malden, also in Surrey. In the mid 1930s T.G. took over the manufacture of S.O.S. motorcycles, formerly made by Len Vale Onslow and he continued to manufacture and improve on these up to the outbreak of World War Two. Unfortunately, theft of engines and parts, together with vandalism of the factory equipment, during the war period meant that production was unable to be restarted after the war, which was a serious blow to both T.G. himself and the Club, as the S.O.S. had evolved into a high quality lightweight machine, for which T.G. had promoted the slogans "So Obviously Superior" and "So Often Successful", to match the initials on the tank, which had formerly stood for "Super Onslow Special". |
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After the second world war, the British Two-Stroke Club was restarted, but with a more socially based structure than before. As in the pre-war setup, the Club had several sections functioning around Britain, but although they still ran competitions there was much more of an emphasis on the social side of club life. The BTSC, because of T.G.s involvement over a long period of time with the Villiers powered Francis Barnett and S.O.S. machines, has always had a strong tie up with the Villiers Engineering Company and it was a proud moment for the Club when T.G. rode out of the gates of the Villiers factory in 1956 on a Francis Barnett Cruiser powered by the two millionth Villiers engine to be produced. |
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After a lean time for the Club during the late 1960s and 1970s, the BTSC revival took place as a result of the increasing interest in old motorcycles in the early 1980s and from then on the Club has mainly been biased towards people who are interested in keeping and running old two-stroke motorcycles on the road. The Club still has a very strong Villiers following, but it encompasses all makes of two-stroke powered machines (and not just of British manufacture) and also those of all ages, for we feel that it is beneficial for all concerned to meet others whose machines may be quite different to their own, but who are meeting together for their shared enjoyment of using, or having an interest in, a common type of power unit (which is perhaps not quite so common these days). |
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Myself,
(Web Site Coordinator Colin Atkinson) as a new BTSC member in 1965, seated on
my 1959 197cc Francis Barnett Falcon 81 model, just bought then, but still
owned and ridden by me today |
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Find out more about the BTSC through visiting our information pages by clicking here.
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I first joined the British Two Stroke Club in 1965 because in those days there was not really any other national club which catered for small machines such as this. I quickly found that it was a friendly club which encouraged me to get more involved over the years, to the extent that I am still involved with it over 35 years later, and still find it just as friendly, even though the focus has changed somewhat over the years, as mentioned above
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Alan
Abrahams, the Current and 5th
President of the British Two Stroke Club in 2005 |
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The British Two Stroke Club has had only five Presidents during its long history Professor A.M. Low from 1929 to 1956 T.G. Meeten from 1956 to 1974 Miss Margaret Child from 1974 to 1995 Colin Atkinson from 1995 to 2004 Alan Abrahams from 2004 |
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As a national club which covers a huge range
of motorcycle makes and models we obviously cannot offer things such as
spares schemes etc which the more specialised “one-make” clubs sometimes
offer. However, what we do have is a friendly club of diverse interest when
it comes to motorcycles but which are united in our liking for the two-stroke
engine and there is a lot of collective knowledge about both the machines and
their two-stroke engines within our ranks. |
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Thank you for taking the time to read this web page and happy motorcycling |
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Colin Atkinson (on behalf of the BTSC) |
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