Great video, and great sound of a classic bike.

That Rudge sounds lovely, great video.

Bro, Thank you soo much for your podcast. My Grandfather rode a Rudge back in the Thirties in London. The video choked me up man...

A really nice video! Scott's great guy. I love his '68 Triumph, but this Rudge might just take the cake!

All Specials have cast iron heads.Early Ulsters were cast iron then bronze then aluminium.For one year only the Ulster had a fully radial valve layout then went parallel inlet and radial exhaust. Hotter cams, larger carb, thinner valve stems, slipper piston. If pushed hard in high compression tune the heads are prone to crack-not always. Google The Rudge Enthusiasts Club Cheers Dougie

A friend of mine, Brian Cooper, had an alloy cylinder jacket cast and built a Rudge Ulster engine up in a Jawa 500-896 frame for grass track racing about 5 years ago. My involvement was in helping with the engine fitting and engine plate installation as Brian was in his early 80's then . It was ridden by his son versus modern Godden and Jawa bikes and held its own. The alloy cylinder Jacket hiked the performance compared to the previous iron jacket. Brian reckoned that this was the way Rudge would have gone after the war if they'd stayed in business.... sadly the Luftwaffe destroyed their factory. Brian was still racing in competition grass track until he retired from it aged 86. In 1988 he let me take a 1928 Rudge Ulster race engined café racer built into a Norton featherbed frame, which He'd built back in the 1960's, for a ride. It had a hand change box that had been converted to foot change so I was given conflicting advice, "Feel the gears in carefully but don't be afraid to rev the motor!!". An experience never to be forgotten. The bike produced 54 HP when it was dynamometer tested at some point in its life and by how it went I could believe it. Other Rudge firsts were the world's first "Ton Up" 250cc road bike in 1938. It was Rudge's last bike. Forget Suzuki's claims with the T20 "Super Six", Rudge had already done it decades earlier. Only recently have modern road bike 250cc 4 stroke singles come close to the same performance. Also aftermarket factory tuning parts such as phosphor radial heads for the 250cc and 500cc bikes, different cams, etc. Also Rudge were the first to introduce left foot gear levers / right foot brakes for the simple fact that pulling a U-Turn on British left side driving roads was easier than with a right side lever. The 1934 Rudge 500 had front and rear wheel linked brakes, another first for motorcycling. It does make one wonder that, had Rudge continued after WW2, what would they be making today. Currently the name brand is owned by Raleigh, a bicycle company, so is dormant. It could be revived.

Great video! I have 2 Ulsters! a '37 and a 39! great bikes, always attract a crowd!

Thanks for the video . lovely bike.

Very enjoyable video, thanks!

awesome bikes,i'd happily take one of these, a Norton or a Royal Enfield.

WOW! great bikes!

one of these used on 'then came bronsen'... 'the old motorcycle fiasco' classic barnyard drifting and stream jumping!

I want to get one too! But so hard to find nowadays.

If I had a buck for every time I've watched this video I'd be able to afford one! Almost :) Great bike

Hey Zorba Rose I'm building a 37'special and need a gasket set. Could you point me in the right direction. Thank you @N9155E the special was considered a touring bike. And the Ulster was their sport bike.

@alanvt1

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Yup! join the REC rudge enthusiasts club!......all info there!

I have two Rudge Ulsters one complete,can be viewed on vintagebike.co.uk, and the other about to be re-assembled.

Can I ask a silly question? how to start one of these (say 250CC 1937)?