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HISTORY After WWII, the VINCENT HRD Co. offered a fresh redesign of their pre-war fast bike, the RAPIDE, capable of 110 mph out of the box. Soon after, they designed a tuned version of this, the BLACK SHADOW capable of 125 mph and faster than almost everything on the street, including the RAPIDE. Philip C. Vincent ventured to America in 1948 visiting his dealers and gathering feedback from them on his product and the market needs. In Los Angeles, he dined with wealthy sportsman, car racing team owner and rabid motorcyclist, John Edgar and West Coast distributor, Vincent Martin. Edgar expressed enthusiasm over the Vincents and since the BLACK SHADOWS were already seeing 125 mph, wondered if Vincent might sell him a specially tuned BLACK SHADOW capable of taking the outright, US motorcycle speed record? Of course he would and as Vincent sometimes did, promised that he could provide a machine, if ridden by a competent rider, which would likely reach a full 150 mph. Not to mention the fact that the current US record would be easily broken, standing at a mere 137 mph since it was set by only a Harley Davidson. A deal was struck to build such a motorcycle, beyond BLACK SHADOW specs with which Edgar could rightfully claim as he rode this bike around Los Angeles was the fastest motorcycle in America. He explained that in this way, armed with the certificate as to its speed, he would "clean up" by betting other motorcyclists and then producing the record before collecting on the wagers. A wire was sent to the VINCENT H.R.D. factory instructing chief engineer Phil Irving to proceed with the build. A BLACK SHADOW was pulled from the line and taken to the EXPERIMENTAL Dept. (more of a shed) where Irving, with the help of factory apprentice, (now, "Sir") JOHN SURTEES and CLIFF BROWN, brother of works racer and tester, GEORGE BROWN, such a machine was hand-built and was the first Vincent to boast an hydraulic rear suspension damper, Lightning-type clutch and what are now referred to as "Mk II" or LIGHTNING camshafts. Further modifications centered about special AMAL TT racing carburettors without manifolds due to the lack of time to produce them. Adaptors were carefully built to allow the racing carburettors to be turned sideways and bolted straight to the cylinder heads and the float chambers remain vertical. Air seems to disregard whether a carb is sideways or not, but fuel seems to require the proper position. Internally, the engine enjoyed polished flywheels and rods as well as larger ports and some polishing-all things later employed on every subsequent one of the 32 or so BLACK LIGHTNINGS produced by the factory. Testing was at a local airport where George Brown and his brother took the bike and it was run well past 140 mph before it had to be shut off due to the short runway. It was crated along with the street equipment necessary for Mr. Edgar to enjoy it as a street legal motorcycle and dispatched to America. The PROTOTYPE BLACK LIGHTNING (the name "Black Lightning" having not yet being coined by Vincent) was entrusted to ROLLIE FREE, an experienced, 48 year old former Indy driver and long-time INDIAN racer and motorcycle dealer who just happened to hate anything HARLEY DAVIDSON worst in this world. ROLLIE removed the soft rear fender and stays and used the stronger ones from a racer he had ridden called "The 5 O'clock Shadow" and installed it. He narrowed the handlebars, removed much of the foot pegs and controls, the front brakes, fender, horn, generator and anything else that helped. He even took his saw to the rear of the chain guard thought to possibly trap some air at speed. The front forks, Bramptons, were treated to a wrapping of friction tape to improve aerodynamics. Inside the wheels, Plastic Wood was spread to prevent chafing of the tube and bearings were lubed with Vaseline. Light engine oil was substituted. The factory had provided a small assortment of racing carburettor jets and some rear sprockets which he used to advantage. MOBIL OIL (STANDARD OIL at the time) became a sponsor and Rollie added their Flying horse stickers to the fuel tank and cut a Mobil oil can in half, mounting it to the wooden block on the rear of the back mudguard to further call attention to his sponsor. His service station partner, Ted, contributed the wooden piece.
The story of Rollie and John's BONNEVILLE success and 150.313 mph two-way record of Sept. 13, 1948 is well known and the photograph of ROLLIE FREE lying out on this motorcycle is the most famous photograph in all of motorcycling. It has inspired generations of both motorcyclist and non-motorcyclists. Today, this bike, because of the bravery of Rollie and John is the most famous motorcycle in the world. Now, ROLLIE FREE and JOHN EDGAR are gone. John's son, WILLIAM EDGAR, a teenager at the time, is around to recall the entire matter and on special occasion, recount the tale from his perspective. Will and the HRD-all that's still around of this wonderful, crazy, inspiring event. Will's great wife probably won't let you buy him, but thankfully, you can now acquire the actual motorcycle.
CONDITION For a racing motorcycle, this one is remarkably original. The forks, tanks, both fuel and oil, the frames, front and rear, the engine and the special carburettors are all original, except that in the engine, the original soft cams were replaced with identical ones properly hardened and lower compression ratio pistons were installed to allow Mr. Edgar to buy gasoline when he rode. Things always replaced on racers, alloy wheel rims and racing carburettors are still the originals. Heads, cylinders, cases, wheel hubs and more are all original. It is even believed that the racing 1 5/8" exhaust system is the original one. In short, only a few pieces had to be found to complete the transformation of the world's first BLACK LIGHTNING from street Vincent to as-raced.
Today, the bike stays in a temperature and humidity controlled, highly secure spot in Austin, Texas. It starts, runs, accelerates very hard, clutches, turns and does almost everything you might think of-except stop quickly as three of its 4 brakes are gone. It is geared for 150 mph top speed and no doubt, fitted again with alcohol fuel jets and pistons, would repeat that. It is believed, after conversation with its previous owner of many, many years that the Lightning has only something less than 10,000 miles. It was recently, Aug., 2009, ridden the 70 miles of the TOUR d'ELEGANCE as an entrant in the 2009 PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS d'ELEGANCE, finishing without incident and receiving the green ribbons awarded to finishing entrants. EVENTS Over the course of the 15 years that my wife and I have been privileged to own and care for this greatest of motorcycles, it has been invited to many events. Some we take it to and they have included:
DOCUMENTATION Naturally, extremely thorough documentation exists to establish the credentials of this greatest of motorcycles. To begin, it has received the CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY from THE VINCENT OWNERS CLUB, Registrar of Machines and has copies of the Works Build documents, also provided through the courtesy of the Club. Most incredibly, the motorcycle comes with the original California "pink slip" title certificate originally provided in 1948 to John Edgar (and it is pink.) As well, there are copies of subsequent titles, documents affecting ownership, Michigan title copy and today, a valid TEXAS CERTIFICATE OF TITLE.
Countless magazine articles exist on the Edgar Lightning, beginning with CYCLE WORLD MAGAZINE and including magazines from Britain, books on Vincent motorcycles and history and very recently, the most authoritative book of them all, FLAT OUT - THE ROLLIE FREE STORY, by Jerry Hatfield, 2007. Copies of all these accompany the motorcycle to the new owner.
REQUIREMENTS We are seeking a new owner who not only is prepared to invest a significant amount to own this icon, but who meets the qualification of allowing the public to see the bike from time to time.
A specific price is not placed now on the bike as doing so will no doubt take the focus of the right person buyer off the important other requirement and the tremendous achievement of this one, iconic motorcycle. I know that a new owner will be a person of vision and a person who seeks only the very, very best in whatever that person does. Frankly, I would hope that if a person doesn't buy this for him or herself, maybe it would be a gift from an incredible and loving wife or other for a collector. If you are qualified and I am confident that you must be a person who loves history more than gold, you should contact us via email to discuss this matter in a most confidential manner.
PHOTOS (Click images to enlarge) 
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