The property of the late John Renwick, 2001/c.1950 Renwick-Vincent 'Epimetheus' 1,665cc Sprint Racing Motorcycle, Registration no. not registered Frame no. none visible Engine no. F10AB/1/5183

• The ultimate Vincent sidecar outfit?
• Stellar performance
• Designed, built, & sprinted by John Renwick

Finishing second on Prometheus at The Brighton Speed Trials was a great result by any normal standards, but for John Renwick it was the spur to building a dedicated sprint machine on which he could win. Work started in November 2000, and fabrication was completed in March 2001. The new motorcycle was suitably named Epimetheus who, in Greek mythology, was the brother of fellow Titan Prometheus. "Epi" benefitted massively from John's very considerable experience of building quick Vincents over several decades and went on to achieve astonishing successes especially when pitched against much more modern competition. The engine, which had been in John's possession for many years, is 1665cc with bore and stroke dimensions of 100mm x 106mm. The crank is to John's own design and likely to be very similar to that already described in relation to Prometheus, the conrods are Carrillo, the cams are homemade, the gearbox is a 5 speed Quaife, clutch is Kawasaki, carburettors are Gardners, and the ignition system is a Lucas Rita twin spark with high output coils. Compressed air is used to optimise each gearchange. The frame's front downtube also serves as a 3 pint fuel tank, the dummy tank being a fibre glass engine cover.

John's notes written around 2009 read: "Since winning the Classic Bike championship in its first season of running in 2001, this has been repeated in 2002, 2003, and 2006. The machine still holds most of the sprinting venues course records and has never been beaten by a classic machine, and only occasionally by the best modern equipment. The fastest standing quarter mile time is now 10.05 seconds with a terminal speed of 132 mph. This compares with the official British record of 11.746 seconds by Super Nero and the official world record of 10.60 seconds......The latest result is the win...at Brighton in 2009 against a full field of modern long wheelbase outfits." Ultimate success at The Brighton Speed Trials hadn't come immediately, but the Sussex Trophy for the best time by a motorcycle and sidecar was won in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Harvey Bowden's excellent series of YouTube videos produced in 2012 & 2013 give a fascinating insight into John Renwick's talents and exploits, ably helped by Eddie Wallbank, his 'assistant co-worker'. Google 'Renwick Epimetheus Harvey Bowden' – these videos are most certainly worth watching! The Epimetheus video shows Epi on the brake 'developing about 180 bhp'! Epi's most recent sprint was in 2016 when John rode at Santa Pod. This was their final outing because by this time John was 78 and he decided to hang up his leathers. After a period of inactivity re-commissioning will be required before further use. Prospective bidders should satisfy themselves as to the motorcycle's completeness and mechanical condition.

As with all Lots in the Sale, this Lot is sold 'as is/where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness, and originality prior to bidding.