The Handlebars and controls

Close examination of the handlebars revealed that they were bent on the timing side.

The racing Doherty levers and throttle were exchanged with uncle Franco for genuine items that had been fitted to a Vincent from new. however, when the Amal twistgrip was offered up it wouldn’t slide home – this is when Bert realised that the bars were bent on that side.

Some work was required to achieve a satisfactory seating…

The handlebars have a dull chromed finish but I hadn’t considered them to be original to the bike, I mean, what would the chances of that be, right? Under this dull chrome was a thick layer of copper which hinted that the plating had been done many years ago; platers rarely employ this method nowadays and, if they do, the plating is usually very thin. This fact, in addition to the unusual dull chromed finish, leads Bert and myself to believe that there is a high possibility that these are the very ‘bars that 2751 left The Works fitted with. Usually they would have either been enameled or bright chromed but not dull chromium plated. The clincher is that we know that the special finishes 2751 sported were not known to previous owners of the bike and many original dull chromed/anodized parts had been painted over. There is no reason why anyone would go to the trouble of finishing the handlebars in dull chrome and we feel this point is conclusive enough to point to their being original. Perhaps we are wrong though… If anyone can suggest otherwise we will happily quaff down a large portion of delicious humble pie each! 🥧