c.1928 Douglas DT5
A remarkable survivor from the earliest days of Speedway

Registration No: Unregistered
Frame No: TF819D
MOT: Exempt

• From long-term ownership
• A rare and striking 1920s dirt-track racer
• Complete with an RF60 buff logbook

The Bristol-based Douglas Foundry commenced motorcycle production in 1907 with a horizontally-opposed twin. In the late 1920s, speedway (or dirt-track) racing came to Britain, and during the 1950s and ’60s seemingly every major town had a speedway stadium. Some of the first meetings were staged at Camberley, Surrey, in 1927 and Droylsden, Lancashire, in 1927, and then at High Beech Speedway in Loughton, Essex, in 1928. Before long, almost all major British manufacturers listed a dirt-track-ready model, and Douglas was one of the first to establish itself in the sport. Speedway was rather a rough occupation, so very few machines survive from its formative years.

The machine offered for sale, a rare and rather dramatic-looking survivor from the early years of speedway, was acquired by the late owner in 1980. The old RF60 logbook records the last owner as Mr. Heath Bovingdon-Tasker in Carlisle, and indicates that this DT has its correct numbers. It still retains many original features to factory specification, including its YG gearbox. We have been informed that the engine was overhauled by Bob Jones, the famed Douglas speedway rider, but it will need some recommissioning and checking over before it can be run again.

For more information, please contact:
Mike Davis
mike.davis@handh.co.uk
07718 584217