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new toy
- Thread starter FLEA
- Start date
Neato - what year is that old gal Flea?
Wait, what? Whoa! For those of us who don't know (I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what I don't know), what is a Douglas, what year is it, and can you post a few more pictures?... I like the lines of it... It looks like something made to go very fast, for long distances... 
Wait, what? Whoa! For those of us who don't know (I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what I don't know), what is a Douglas, what year is it, and can you post a few more pictures?... I like the lines of it... It looks like something made to go very fast, for long distances...
Hi Tebo,
Douglas factory was mebbe 10 miles from my home in Bristol, England.
That's a between 1945 & 1953(ish) model.
Very fast? About 70mph down hill with a tail wind is about as quick as it's 350cc flat twin would push it.
And as there's nowhere in England that's more than 80 miles to the sea, it'd go for long enough.
Google "Douglas Motorcycle" to see the marque's history.
Sorry for the digression, but I think that a very young Douglas Bader (the legless WW-II flying ace - subject of the movie and book "Reach for the Sky") rode a Douglas motorcycle. That would likely have been in the 1920s and so it was a much earlier model, obviously.
Anyhow - if you want to read an inspiring story of shear courage and defiance in the face of adversity, check out his biography. Bader wasn't right about everything, but he sure had guts. After scoring a substantial number of German aircraft in the Battle of Britain and afterwards as Squadron Leader of 242 (RCAF) squadron on Hurricanes, he was shot down over France and captured. He eventually had to be placed in solitary confinement because he kept on trying to escape. He was finally credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared kills, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged. From what I could tell, his temperament was well-suited to the Canadians he led in 242.....
Anyhow - if you want to read an inspiring story of shear courage and defiance in the face of adversity, check out his biography. Bader wasn't right about everything, but he sure had guts. After scoring a substantial number of German aircraft in the Battle of Britain and afterwards as Squadron Leader of 242 (RCAF) squadron on Hurricanes, he was shot down over France and captured. He eventually had to be placed in solitary confinement because he kept on trying to escape. He was finally credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared kills, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged. From what I could tell, his temperament was well-suited to the Canadians he led in 242.....
FLEA
XS650 Guru
damm should have included more info .. its a british 1947-48 T35 350cc , suppose to do 70mph top speed in their day , but 40-45 mph is suppose to be their happy place now days with a odd burst to 60mph possible , they stopped production in ww2 but still made the engines , they were used to power generators,this was the 1st model after ww2 , the carbs on mine are a bit flogged out so planning on putting a modern set on which hopefully will mean being able to sit on 55-60 mph , a bit of useless knowledge , late 40s douglas was almost bankrupt but managed to swing a deal with piaggio (vespa parent company) to build vespa scooters in the uk (Bristol) and sole distributor for the empire , douglas took piaggio to the cleaners which was why lambbreta (or some such spelling) took over the uk scooter market... douglas was bought out in about 1956 by Westinghouse , another strange coincerdent a week after buying it my brother turned 70 .. his name douglas and born in 1948 ...RECKONS I SHOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A B/DAY PRESENT … lol, fat chance .. its a keeper ... by the way douglas did have a very rich racing history 20-30s and pre ww2
FLEA
XS650 Guru
its a runner now just leaks badly from 1 carb straight on to exhaust , very uncommon in nth qld but a few down south , later this month there is a douglas rally in sth qld .. looking at their site about 200 admittance forms have been downloaded(quite a few will only be spectaters though)
I had this photo as a screen saver for a long time.
Monkey?...Wrench?... 
It might seem hard to believe but there is at least one Douglas flat twin campaigned in the Talmag Trial (annual pre-65 four-strokes trial). All sorts of stuff got turned into trials irons back in the day and I suppose this would at least benefit from a low c of g!
FLEA
XS650 Guru
damm,might have to copy this as a self portrate (or some such spelling)
FLEA
XS650 Guru
the old guy bought it off (in early 80s) was a big tall bloke ,(even now ) and that was one of the things he commented on , said it had a very low c/g and so was really easy to bring back upright out of a turn .. the earlier Douglas's were used in flat track and speedway a lot so would not be surprised at them being used for trials though the carbs could be easily knocked around on my model
A pic of a Factory Trained Tech?
