Royal Enfield first entered the Isle of Man TT in 1911 when H Greaves finished fifth in the Junior race. Royal Enfield continued to enter machines into the prestigious event, and in 1914 this motorcycle (on display at the Beaulieu National Motor Museum) was ridden to third place in the 1914 IOM Junior TT by Frank Walker.
It was powered by a 345cc Enfield engine (that had replaced the M.A.G unit which was very similar in design), had a lowered frame, and featured a glass oil tank that can be seen to the aft of the motor. The engine was designed by WH Guillon who worked for Enfield at that time, returning to Switzerland when war broke out.
The 345cc prototype was in fact tested and developed on the Brooklands banked circuit by Bert Colver who rode for Royal Enfield at the time. A unique feature of the motorcycle was dry-sump lubrication, whereby the oil was returned from the crank to a novel cylindrical glass tank fitted to the saddle tube. The vast majority of bikes at this time (and for many more years) had a total loss oil system, and so the Enfield was ahead of the game.
The 1914 TT Junior Race covered five laps of the Snaefell Mountain Course; it was held in poor weather conditions – heavy rain and mist on the Mountain Circuit gave competitors a tough time but produced a tremendous and yet tense race. Royal Enfield entered eight of their bikes into the Junior event.
Walker took the race lead on the first lap, but started to lag due to tyre issues. By lap five , Walker was in third place where he ran wide into a ditch at Hillberry and was thrown over the handle-bars. After recovering the motorcycle, Walker continued on the last lap but fell at Willaston Corner on Ballanard Road after locking both wheels under braking. Once again, dusting himself off to continue, Walker battled on to the finish line where his view was hampered by spectators who had spilled onto the road to watch the chequered flag.
As Walker passed the judges box at the finish line, he continued at full speed through St. Ninians Crossroads and collided with a wooden barrier where he was thrown from his motorcycle and taken to hospital. Tragically he later died of his injuries, and this bike now serves as remembrance to a bold and brave racer. Six of the other Royal Enfield’s finished the 187-mile race, which was a remarkable record of reliability on the most demanding race circuit on the planet.
Although this machine started out with the 345cc Enfield V-Twin, it was later replaced with the standard 425cc V-twin side-valve at the Enfield factory in Redditch, and this is the example you see today in the Beaulieu Motor Museum collection.
an article by The Girder Club
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