Scott Flying Squirrel

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Manufactured at a purpose built factory in Shipley, Yorkshire, the Flying Squirrel was one of the models that made Scott motorcycles famous.

Launched in 1926 it was a road-going version of the successful 1925 Amateur TT model with a duplex, fully triangulated frame and a truncated oval fuel tank filling the space between the frame and engine. Combined with a centrally sprung front girder fork, a forerunner of conventional telescopics, it provided excellent road holding.

The rotary valve 180 degree two-stroke engine was water cooled and the bottom end was located in an alloy casting with the block painted either green or red for racing or road respectively. The flywheel was positioned centrally, the engine having twin inboard main bearings and overhung crankpins. Available in two basic sizes, a 498cc and a 596cc depending on the stroke, the machine here appears to be fitted with the larger of the two units.

A redesigned three-speed gearbox, a multi-plate clutch and repositioned magneto were all major improvements over the earlier Squirrel, sparking a revival of public interest in the charismatic two-stroke, a cult which continues today.

The vendor of this wonderful bike inherited it from her late father, a well known collector of fine quality cars and motorcycles. He had purchased it at least 20 years before, although any paperwork that may have originally come with the machine has sadly long since disappeared. The family have always been led to believe that this racy looking machine had been used for sand-racing at Blackpool before the war. Looking at the dropped bars and racing saddle, this looks like a perfectly plausible theory.

Its engine number of FY2612A would date it from around 1928 and the frame number 2154M (possibly 2134M – it is a little indistinct) would also appear to come from around that period. Briefly running when acquired all those years ago, we are advised that there is no paperwork relating to this machine and it is not registered with the DVLA, but is being sold with two period ‘pudding basin’ helmets and is just about the coolest thing on two-wheels!