If you ask the average vintage connoisseur to pen-out a top 10 dream list, there is no doubt that a machine produced by the distinguished Brough Superior Works, the “Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles”, would appear on it, and probably with a #1 in front of it. The value of exotic motorcycles has however sky-rocketed in recent years and for most of us, they are wholly inaccessible and bikes only to daydream about… that is until you consider adopting the techniques of our predecessors and replicating a modern-original from the vintage era. Ok, that may be easier said than done. Old-school engineering takes time to understand and re-imagine; and anyone looking to take on such a challenge needs skill, 25 hours a day, and a whole lot of patience.
This moves on nicely to introduce a very cool project, and the brainchild of age-old friends and Finnish bikers Kimmo Alho and Jouni Ruohola who wanted to create something with a bit of flare. The concept was kick-started some 12 years ago when Kimmo began looking into fabricators who had the capability to cast and replicate old motorcycle engines. It took little persuasion when Kimmo asked Jouni whether he wanted to jump on board to help design and create something special around the heart of the motorcycle – cue a formidable partnership that would result in something very awesome.
The next job was to decide what to base the project on, and where to take inspiration. Jouni already had 1920s Indians but had an appetite for a machine that was above and beyond the work-horse type of motorcycle – something with standing, power and heritage… and where here better to look than to Brough Superior. An original Brough, of which there are only about one thousand left worldwide, fetch ridiculous money these days and are virtually unobtainable to the average person. A replica, however, would overcome these issues… the duo bit the bullet, and decided to create not one, but two home-made SS100 specials – the first, a super-charged beast inspired by a Noel Pope racer; and the other, a naturally aspirated civilian version.
The vision gained traction in 2011 when the first hurdle was jumped and an order placed in the UK for the production of high-quality castings from MFC, and cranks from precision engineering company Merlin Engineering. It was a hurry up and wait affair, until the parts were eventually finished and shipped to Kimmo and Jouni at the Machinery Shop Brothers Alho. It was at this point that the mission could really begin.
There were some modifications that needed to happen once the castings had arrived in the workshop, and this included some fine tuning (machining) of the crank cases and cylinder heads, and the addition of sumps to create a recirculating oil system rather than total loss. It is all about the environment these days, don’t forget!
The undertaking was very much a collective of friends putting their heads and skill sets together. Jouni concentrated on the vision and helped build the bikes and component parts, while Kimmo shaped the crux of the mechanics and refined the initial castings. The frames and aluminium petrol and oil tanks were fabricated by Jari, an aluminium wizard and brother of Jouni. The brake and clutch levers, found in an auto-jumble, were not up to the standard of the overall build, and therefore help was enlisted from Kimmo’s brother Vesa, who hammered raw versions for the bikes which were then filed, polished and plated. The importance of teamwork in these builds cannot be underestimated.
A project of this magnitude needs plenty of help and reference literature, and one book that helped save the day was The Vintage Years by Jeff Clew. This book is packed with pictures and material that relates to the early J.A.P engines, including the twin-cam KTOR J.A.P which forms the basis of the Brough inspired motorcycles featured in this article.
Once the engines were sorted, the next step was to focus on the bones of the bikes. The frames were fabricated to match the geometry of the SS100 Broughs and were welded by TIG and then painted black.
The Brough Superior tanks were a statement of what the motorcycle represented – big, bold and beautiful. They were quite simply a masterpiece, and so recreating such a slice of fine craftsmanship would be no easy task. This was not to deter the creators however, and in came a clever chap who fabricated the petrol and oil tanks to a supreme standard using 2mm and 3mm aluminium sheeting, and the assistance of Pulmax and tig machines. The next step was to polish the aluminium to high heaven which seems to have worked out pretty well, with a superb finish. Finally, the upper section of the tank was painted black to mock the original Brough tanks, with a gold pin stripe hand painted to mark the divide.
If you are in the business of recreating one of the most iconic motorcycles of all time, it has to look the part, and so next in line was to shine up the smaller bits and pieces – its all about the detail! This photo shows nickel plated petrol caps and some parts for the compression releaser.
The builds gradually started to come together, piece by piece: one super charged as shown in the foreground (inspired by Noel pope), and one naturally aspired a shown in the background (inspired by George B.).
A stand out feature of Brough Superior motorcycles were the patented Castle forks. These were developed from a Harley Davidson design, and combined light weight with strength, which afforded the motorcycles much better road holding and performance that almost any other contemporary front fork. And they really did suit the bikes produced by George Brough which were big and bold, and needed this statement to continue on the front end. Original Castle forks are not easy to come by, and so Jouni and Kimmo ordered some reproduction forks from Germany. The quality assurance and high standard at the Machinery Shop Brothers however, meant some fine tuning, and many parts including the entire damping system, reaction bars and steering shafts were remade. The bronze wing nuts (as well as many of the cast parts featured on the bikes) were cast by “The Happy Brass Smith”.
The motorcycles finally started to come together. The supercharger was bolted on to the Noel Pope racer, the oil pumps were signed off with version 4, and there were now two bikes on the shelf that started to resemble a Brough Superior.
The complexity of an impressive project was without its many obstacles and technical issues – but this was nothing that a supportive and admirable bond between friends could not overcome – and they battled through the tough times together to create not one, but two masterpieces. After six years in the making, the motorcycles were finally complete. This a photo of them standing proud outside the Koneistus veljekset Alho (“Machinery Shop Alho Bros.”). In the front is Kimmo Alho’s “civil version”, and behind, the Noel Pope race version of the same bike.
A focus on the Supercharged beast.
This is the machine that took inspiration from a late thirties supercharged Brough Superior, and the type raced by Noel Pope. It has been dubbed the RR 1150 (Rough Of Rämsöö).
Noel Pope was influenced very early in life when he happened to catch a glimpse of Lawrence of Arabia blasting past on his Brough Superior, leading to, in his words, “a lifetime devotion to the risks and thrills of motorcycling and racing”. This early influence pushed him more into the world of two wheels where early dare devil racers teared up circuits and tracks that were quickly popping up around the UK.
Noels passion for racing developed with time and he soon found himself taking part in respected events around the continent, including the IOM TT Junior and Senior classes, and meetings held at the Brooklands arena. In the period of 1937-1939 Noel acquired many speed records at Brooklands on a Brough Superior blower… this included the fastest solo machine lap at 124.51mph (a record that stood indefinitely) and 106.6mph with a sidecar outfit. Such was Noels need for speed, that in 1949 he made an attempt at the two-wheel land-speed record on a streamlined version of what was essentially the same Brough that he had used for the Brooklands record ten years earlier – where he crashed, and astonishingly, survived at 150mph!! It is heroes like Noel that are an inspiration to our world of two wheels, and will continue to do so into the future to rouse incredible builds like the RR1150.
Thanks to Jouni Ruohola for the photos and for making this story happen.
an article by The Girder Club
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