The TT Douglas in now sold

Frame Number OF206, Engine Number FH101, Gearbox Number UG413

The TT Replica (IoM Model) Douglas evolved from the famous RA Douglas (also referred to as the IoM Model), winner of both the Senior and   Sidecar TTs in 1923. Douglas servo brakes replaced the Research Association 'disc' brakes of the RA, and the new gearbox (which differed from that of the road-going OB by having its main shaft forward of, instead of behind, the counter shaft) was mounted to the frame under the seat, instead of being fixed to the back of the crank case as it was on the RA. First catalogued in 1926, the TT Replica was the production version of the machine that first appeared in the hands of the works riders in 1925.

Survivors are scarce: probably fewer than half a dozen running examples survive. In common with most other racy Douglases of the 1920s, this example has a number of deviations from standard specification (such as they are known) but importantly (and possibly uniquely?) features prefixes that identify the frame, engine and gearbox as being of TT Replica origins.

According to information provided on the Douglas Motorcycle Forum, http://www.douglasmotorcycles.net/aa-files/html/identify-part2/vintage4.6.htm, FH101 would likely be the first TT Rep engine of the 1927 model range, while OF206 could be the 105th TT frame of 1926. The UG gear box prefix was used also on the road-going OC model. In the absence of information about production numbers, or precise provenance for the bike, it is not known whether the engine, gearbox and frame left the factory together, however the components seem consistent with a machine assembled at the end of the 1926 model year or the very beginning of next.

It is likely that the machine would have been fitted originally with cylinder heads using screw-on rings to retain the manifolds, but given the huge success of the DT Douglas in competition  in the late 1920s it is not surprising to find DT-pattern heads and barrels now fitted. Another feature sometimes associated with the TT Replica - a rear brake drum fitted with a removable sprocket and dog coupling to the hub - is not seen on this example. (So rare is this feature that I am aware of but one extant example!) As a concession to safety and economy of tyre wear, the bike is fitted with 23" wired on rims and tyres. It is likely that there are other variations from catalogue specification, but overall here is a machine that represents the mid-vintage British motorcycle at its peak: low, light, fast, and impeccably behaved.

The bike has been rallied extensively for more than 30 years, and is believed to be in excellent running condition.

A unique opportunity to acquire a rare and desirable riders' motorcycle.

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