Scott Squirrel 498cc - 1924
There is one English motorcycle brand that has always fascinated me, and that is Scott. All motorcycles built by Alfred Angus Scott differ from average. Apart from a few exceptions, they are powered by watercooled 2–cylinder 2–stroke engines, developed in a time that slow running aircooled 4–stroke single cylinder engines were used by most manufacturers.
He was innovative and did not hesitate to solve things in his own way. This resulted in interesting motorcycles which were quite modern for their time. Already in 1908 he patented a motorcycle equipped with a kickstarter (not on the usual place at the gearbox, but next to the rear wheel and operating with a chain to the engine) and a kind of telescopic front forks:
Nice to see is that these front forks are similar to what is nowadays called "upside down" front forks, "invented" in 1983 by WP Suspension. This specific chassis design proved to be so good that it has been used almost unchanged for more than 30 years!
And let's not forget the special 2–speed transmission, generally known as the Scott 2–speeder. This was not a normal gearbox, but a construction with 2 chain drives with different ratio's between the crankshaft and the transmission axis. Each of the chain drives had its own coupling to the transmission axis, and with a heel-and-toe pedal the low or high gear sprocket could be engaged. Later normal 3–speed gear boxes were used.
Scott motorcycles have been build in roughly 3 different versions, each in a lot of varieties:
- the Standard model, a comfortable bike with footboards and long touring style handlebars (see image above)
- the lighter and more sporty (Super) Squirrel models, with foot rests and flat handlebars
- the Flying Squirrels with the larger tank placed between the riders knees and a normal 3–speed gear box
My personal preference is the 2nd type, with the 2–speeder transmission. In 2019 I was so lucky to find one in a nicely restored condition. Here a few pictures:
Unfortunately I have hardly ridden it yet. I have only made a short test ride, but not yet found the time to get it properly running (the motorcycle has hardly been ridden in the past years, so it needs some attention on a few details) and get a Dutch license for it.
But when that is done, it will be a right eye-catcher because of its bright red and purple colour (original - in a time when most motorcycles were mainly black) and especially its "howling" sound.
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