AERMACCHI
HARLEY DAVIDSON
1969 350cc Lawton Ala D’Oro
Factory built racer tuned and race prepared by Sid Lawton.
The bike has a 350cc pushrod operated long stroke motor mounted in a spine frame.
The front forks are made by Ceriani as is the 230 mm double sided twin leading shoe front brake.
The engine breaths through a 38mm Dellorto SS1 carburettor and has an 11.5:1 compression ratio,
allowing it to develop about 36 horse power at 8,500 RPM. The crankcases are heavy duty spec. by Linton and Lawton with a big bearing crank and an Arrow short con rod, drive via a bronze racing clutch and a close ratio 6 speed Schafleitner gearbox.
The dry weight of the bike is 210 lbs and has a top speed of about 125 MPH when suitably geared.
The bike was bought from Lawton and Wilson Ltd of Southampton on 6 March 1970 for £757-10-0 by the late Ronnie Niven of Ayr in Scotland. Ronnie raced it throughout the 1970’s on into the mid 90’s, competing mostly in club events but also in13 Manx Grand prix and 4 TTs. His best result on the island was a 10th place in the 1982 formula 3 TT finishing in 1 hour 48 minutes 7.2 seconds, averaging 83.75 mph. The bike was last raced by him in 1996 at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man.
The bike is in the process conservation / restoration with the aim of returning it to full race readiness without destroying the patina that has come from a life of competition.
The bike is now being used to do track days and is raced regularly at National Sprint Association meetings. It won the South of England classic up to 500cc class in 2017. The best time recorded so far has been 15.01 seconds over a standing ¼ mile with a terminal speed of 90.5 mph.
HARLEY DAVIDSON
1969 350cc Lawton Ala D’Oro
Factory built racer tuned and race prepared by Sid Lawton.
The bike has a 350cc pushrod operated long stroke motor mounted in a spine frame.
The front forks are made by Ceriani as is the 230 mm double sided twin leading shoe front brake.
The engine breaths through a 38mm Dellorto SS1 carburettor and has an 11.5:1 compression ratio,
allowing it to develop about 36 horse power at 8,500 RPM. The crankcases are heavy duty spec. by Linton and Lawton with a big bearing crank and an Arrow short con rod, drive via a bronze racing clutch and a close ratio 6 speed Schafleitner gearbox.
The dry weight of the bike is 210 lbs and has a top speed of about 125 MPH when suitably geared.
The bike was bought from Lawton and Wilson Ltd of Southampton on 6 March 1970 for £757-10-0 by the late Ronnie Niven of Ayr in Scotland. Ronnie raced it throughout the 1970’s on into the mid 90’s, competing mostly in club events but also in13 Manx Grand prix and 4 TTs. His best result on the island was a 10th place in the 1982 formula 3 TT finishing in 1 hour 48 minutes 7.2 seconds, averaging 83.75 mph. The bike was last raced by him in 1996 at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man.
The bike is in the process conservation / restoration with the aim of returning it to full race readiness without destroying the patina that has come from a life of competition.
The bike is now being used to do track days and is raced regularly at National Sprint Association meetings. It won the South of England classic up to 500cc class in 2017. The best time recorded so far has been 15.01 seconds over a standing ¼ mile with a terminal speed of 90.5 mph.
