1971 Rickman Metisse-BSA 490cc Mark IV, Frame no. 48 IJ

1971 Rickman Metisse-BSA 490cc Mark IV
Frame no. 48 IJ
'After years of racing motocross in the 1950s in England and Europe, brothers Don and Derek Rickman decided to design their own frame. At the time, most dirt bikes were simply stripped-down street bikes, which were too heavy and not ideal for racing in the dirt. They designed their first frame in 1959, the Rickman Metisse Mk I... They made improvements and came out with the limited-production Mk II Metisse in 1960, followed by the full production version...the Mk III in 1962.'

Rickman produced a Mk IV model with a BSA B44 bottom end and a 490cc Weslake barrel and head. 'The Wessy or Rickman motocross head bears no resemblance to the Weslake speedway head and is actually a 'one cylinder' variation of Weslake's 6-cylinder Ford or 4-cylinder Austin/Morris heads.' Weslake Engineering was located in the south of England conveniently close to the Rickman 's. Their work on the BSA engine was ultimately wasted because BSA launched their B50 500cc engine in 1971.

This Victor uniquely had dark blue/black livery with blue stripes and gold rims from the factory plus oil-and-air adjustable forks and Tomaselli Matador aluminum levers. It is thought to be one of 10 completed Weslake Victors ordered by Steen's with Rickman numbers stamped on both frame and engine – none are BSA. This motorcycle was serviced and test run by Frank Del Monte of Arizona British Bikes in 2017 and has not been run since.