1935 Vincent Comet: Buried to Survive

On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Luxembourg was occupied that same day. European civilians, who had been on edge for months since the invasion of Poland, scrambled. Many did their best to flee. Others, deciding or forced by circumstances to stay put, hid their valuables. Someone in Denmark sank a good-sized yacht in a cold freshwater lake. Theo DeBoer, a Dutch chemical engineer, took his trusty Vincent Comet apart and buried it in his garden.

The Comet story begins

DeBoer had purchased the 499cc machine in 1935 from the Dutch Vincent dealer, Henk Heiman. It was one of the first Vincents sold in Europe. DeBoer may have become interested in the machine due to its innovative design, which was quite different from most motorcycles of the 1930s. For one thing, it had a sprung frame, with the spring boxes up under the seat. Many 1930s motorcycles were long stroke — in contrast, the 1935 Vincent Comet’s dimensions were 84 x 90 mm. It had a hand clutch and a four-speed foot-shift gearbox at a time when many motorcycles were still hand-shifted. Prior to the Vincent factory building its own motors, the company bought proprietary engines from JAP and Rudge. Phil Vincent, the owner of the company and a trained engineer, was favorably impressed by the Rudge short-stroke engines and used some of the same ideas in the engines he and company engineer Phil Irving designed.

Other features of the Vincent engine were new. Instead of the usual overhead valve setup with the rockers on top of the valves, the Vincent rocker acted on a collar in the middle of the valve. The valve guides were split in half, with one part above and the other below the collar. This minimized side-to-side valve movement caused by the pushrods and reduced valve and valve guide wear. The split valve guides also allowed the pushrods to be shorter and lowered the height of the assembled engine. Hairpin valve springs, a dodge used by prewar engineers coping with the breakage-prone valve spring metal of the time, sat atop the motor.

The camshaft was located high in the crankcase, instead of just over the crankshaft, as was usual for overhead valve engines. Some commentators objected to the network of external oil lines, but Phil Vincent pointed out that, unlike many contemporary machines, the top end received a consistent oil supply.

The front wheel was set up with left and right single leading shoe drum brakes, which if properly set up, do an excellent job of hauling in the motorcycle, even if loaded up and traveling at speed. Many motorcycles of this period had brakes barely worthy of the name.

The tank logo on this and other Vincent motorcycles was “the Vincent HRD.” Phil Vincent, backed by his parents, had started the enterprise right out of college. He was advised to purchase an established brand in order to give his new company some quick credibility. Harold R. Davies was a winning racer of the 1920s who started his own motorcycle company. Mr. Davies was unable to translate his success on the track into success in business, and the HRD company went bankrupt. It was purchased by a competitor who sold the trademarks to Vincent. Phil Vincent used the “Vincent HRD” logo until the late 1940s, when he switched to the “Vincent.”

As was common at the time, the tiny Vincent factory bought many components from specialist manufacturers, so it was more of an assembly shop. The transmission was a Burman four-speed foot shift device, and the magneto on the early bikes was made by BTH. The carburetor was from Amal. Vincent was a small company running on a shoestring, and buying parts allowed Vincent to concentrate its meager resources.

What Vincent did splurge on was offering a range of different models. The company advertised four different versions of the basic 500cc single. Different cam timing, compression ratios, and Amal carburetor dimensions made quite a difference in performance. The budget “touring” version, the Meteor, was only good for 75 to 80mph, while the top-of-the-line TT Replica production racer was good for up to 110mph. Next in speed and horsepower was the Comet Special. DeBoer’s machine, a Comet, made 26 horsepower at 5600rpm, and had a 7.3:1 compression ratio. Fuel quality could be quite variable, especially away from urban areas, and low compression allowed DeBoer’s Comet to burn whatever could be found. It was good for 85 to 90mph. Road quality was as variable as fuel quality in the 1930s, and the Comet’s top speed was probably unsafe on the majority of European roads.

DeBoer buys his Vincent

According to the Vincent company records, now maintained by the Vincent Owners Club, DeBoer’s Comet’s engine, stamped C62, was actually the second C62 engine to be manufactured. The first C62 engine was tested by the importer and found to consume excessive oil. Because of the way they were set up, these were known as “3 o’clock motors.” They are now extremely rare. Back to the factory the bike went. Vincent had an impressive reputation for customer service, and the engine was quickly replaced with an improved version, known as a “6 o’clock motor.” However, to avoid problems with Dutch customs, the factory stamped the second motor with the same engine number — C62.

DeBoer added a larger oil tank and an optional clock, as he intended to use the bike to travel to work sites in various areas of Europe. The factory had installed an Amal “tidybar.” This accessory organized the multiple levers sprouting from the handlebars of early English motorcycles and made riding easier. DeBoer’s choice of a motorcycle to travel to work sites was not unusual at the time. Automobiles were a luxury for the average European. Many people walked, rode bicycles, or took public transportation. The bread and butter of most 1930s motorcycle companies was an inexpensive, small displacement two-stroke with impressive gas mileage. These small motorcycles were slow and noisy, but could be maintained at home. Larger motorcycles were often used to pull a sidecar, which came in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, often with weather protection. Jaguar, now known for luxury sports cars, got its start as a sidecar manufacturer and was founded as Swallow Coachbuilding Co. in 1930. Among British builders, Vincent was unusual in that it did not make cheap little motorcycles.

Between the time he bought the Comet and the time he buried it to avoid seizure by the Nazis, DeBoer rode more than 100,000 kilometers (over 62,000 miles) around Europe, mostly for work, but sometimes for play — there is a photo of the Comet at a motorcycle gathering in 1939. He kept notes and photographs of the motorcycle in a folder. This documentation has survived and adds to the historical value of this machine.

Although the documentation on this Vincent is quite thorough, there isn’t much information about what DeBoer did during World War II. We do know that his family had a 1926 Bugatti and a 1929 Hispano-Suiza — both high end cars — and the Nazis confiscated both of them. We also know he came back to his home after Victory in Europe day, 1945 (from where is not known) and dug up the Comet. The parts were in good shape, despite being buried for five years, and DeBoer reassembled the machine and started riding it again. He documented the recovery and rebuild with several photographs. In 1947 or 1948, DeBoer was visiting relatives in England and took a ride near the Vincent factory in Stevenage. It was a nice day until the roller bearing on the connecting rod’s big end seized. Our hero was able to find a phone box and call the factory — who sent out a rider on a Series A twin with a tow rope to rescue Theo and the Comet.

Vincent customer service had not been diminished by the war. The factory not only got the Comet running, but installed some upgrades, including bolt-in pushrod tubes. The 1935 Comets were built with slip in tubes. DeBoer didn’t keep the bike much longer after that. The post-war models were beginning to appear on showroom floors and must have been extremely attractive to Europeans tired of privation and making do. He sold the Comet.

The Comet goes adrift

The Vincent company had spent the war making components for the British military, and afterward went back to motorcycles as soon as possible. The post-war bikes were Series B, and then Series C and Series D. Each series had significant mechanical upgrades. Unfortunately, the Vincent factory never made much money, and a series of missteps and bad luck doomed the Vincent motorcycle. The factory closed its doors in 1955.

Enthusiasm for Vincents has long survived the factory, and the Vincent Owners Club is going strong almost 70 years after the last Vincent was built. Parts are available, both from the VOC Spares Co., a commercial operation spun off from the Vincent Owners Club, and other parts suppliers. The price for a Vincent — any Vincent — is very high and doesn’t seem likely to decrease any time soon.

One of the things the Vincent Owners Club does for its members is maintain a registry. It has the factory records, and tries to list subsequent owners of each motorcycle. The Club lost track of this Comet in the 1950s, but it surfaced again in the 1970s in the United States. Brad Oman bought it in 1985.

At this point, the old Comet was a worn-out basket case. Brad Oman spent the next eight years putting the Comet back together and restoring it to its Art Deco glory, complete with refurbished stainless steel fuel tank. The bike became known as the Holland Comet for its long residence in the land of windmills and tulips. It is one of the earliest Vincents known to exist. Eventually, Brad Oman sold the Comet to Vincent restorer Chris McIntosh. Sometime after Chris got the bike, John Conely brought a Series A Vincent twin to Chris to restore. That’s when John saw the Holland Comet — and had to have it.

The Comet finds a new owner

Today, John Conely is a successful business person, but back when he was 14 or 15, he hung around a BSA/Triumph dealership not far from the family home. He maintained his interest in two wheels through college, then went on to other things. “In the mid-90s, I was semi-retired and rekindled my love of British motorcycles. I had a Triumph that needed minor work and took it to Dennis Magri, who had a shop at the time. He had a Vincent and let me sit on it. Everything just fit — the riding position, the seat. I worked with Dennis and the Vincent Club and met people. Through these connections, I was able to find a Series C Rapide, the V-twin model Vincent sold in the early 1950s. It was originally sold to the San Francisco dealer, Hap Jones, and I really liked that it was an original San Francisco bike.”

Somehow, one Vincent wasn’t enough. “I decided I needed something pre-war. This led me to the Series A twin. While Chris was restoring the A twin, I was lusting after the Holland Comet. Eventually, it followed me home.”

The Comet runs again

Shortly after John bought the Comet, he and Chris got it running. This is an involved operation if the bike has been sitting very long. “It takes an hour to set up to run.” The petcocks will leak unless the liner corks are pre-soaked in gasoline. This is probably due to the age of the petcocks, but there are no replacements. Also, possibly due to differences between modern gasoline and the fuel the bike was built to run on, the bike won’t start unless the gasoline is absolutely fresh and the sparkplug is new. Once the bike is ready to go, prime the carburetor, pull in the exhaust lifter lever on the left, cycle the motor to top dead center using the kickstarter, and then kick hard, simultaneously releasing the exhaust lifter. “It should start, and you will hear the reassuring thump thump thump of a massive single.

“Chris and I rode it, and it ran very well, but this bike is a historical artifact. The tires are an old set of Dunlops, and I don’t think that Dunlop makes 20″ tires any more — they sold the molds to a factory in Japan, and an earthquake destroyed the molds. If you put on 19” wheels, it changes the steering geometry. I don’t think it is a good idea to ride the bike.

“This bike is an expression of early motorcycle art. All motorcycles are art — but this bike is a little jewel.” MC