Jake Robbins' Spit and Polish forks

Spit and Polish? That would be the immaculately turned-out SS80 Brough Superior that George Brough built, endlessly fussed over and rode at Brooklands notching up an unofficial 100mph. That was in the early 1920s. George Brough subsequently campaigned the bike in dozens of other races, and generally came out on top—but once almost underneath.

Following such a crash, the bike was rebuilt as Old Bill, which was later bought by VMCC co-founder Titch Allen, and was in-turn passed down to his son, Roger.

In 1992, Roger Allen was killed racing at the Isle of Man (not on this bike), and his wife inherited the machine and put it on display at the Nottingham Industrial Museum.

In October 2012, Old Bill was sold by H&H Auctions at Duxford for a "record breaking" £291,000 (including commission).

▲ Above: Titch Allen is to classic motorcycling what Chuck Berry is to Rock'n'Roll, and that's Titch getting a bump start on Old Bill (with Webb forks fitted) sometime in the 1930s.

As we understand it, the (unnamed) buyer of Old Bill/Spit and Polish commissioned a replica that he wanted to (a) be a "regular rideable machine", and (b) should be "wound back" to the original incarnation when the bike sported Brampton forks, as opposed to the later Webb forks.

This is where Jake Robbins comes into the story. Robbins, the UK's leading girder fork restorer and builder, has recently fabricated a brand new set of Brampton forks (see main image, this story) for that faithful replica of Spit and Polish .

The forks are all-steel and feature oval rear tubes, round front tubes, and twin main springs. There's no damping. Jake also fabricated the handlebars. The bike is now being finished by others involved in the project.

But what's the cost of Jake's forks? Well, he's tight-lipped and keeps his client's affairs confidential. However, you can be sure that this kind of one-off engineering isn't cheap. That said, Jake builds a quality product and he can handle pretty much whatever you need if you've got a project of your own. See Sump's Jake Robbins feature.

George Brough died in January 1970.

Titch Allen died in March 2010.

Jake Robbins, we're pleased to say, is alive and well. Keep that in mind.

www.jake-robbins-vintage-engineering.co.uk

www.nottinghamindustrialmuseum.co.uk

— Big End

Copyright Sump Publishing 2013