1926 Scott 3 speed Super Squirrel

It is likely that the target customers for Scott's Three Speed Super Squirrel were riders who may have been put off from Scott ownership by any perceived difficulties of mastering Scott's own time served two speed gear. Especially in its post 1925 form the "Three Speed Super" was an excellent machine. It was light, handled beautifully, was easy to ride in traffic, and to start on hills. Both the latter could be tricky for novice riders of a two speed Scott. The Three Speed Super Squirrel should have been a much better seller than it was. This wasn't due to any deficiency in the motorcycle but was probably down to innately conservative motorcyclists being put off by the open frame design: Scotts would perhaps have looked odd to riders used to contemporary flat tankers. To compound this, for the 1927 season the Shipley factory launched its radical looking, but much heavier, duplex framed Flying Squirrel - which also had a three speed gearbox. Most of those target customers spent 13 guineas extra on this exciting new machine, and the Three Speed Super wasn't listed after 1928. On today's roads it makes more sense than ever, and consequently the model is now highly sought after.

Amazingly, this one has been in the same family ownership for 62 years, having been bought by the vendor's father from Scott guru Reg Ashton back in 1963. It is believed that the frame and engine of this machine have been together since well before that. Although the frames are different, engines are totally interchangeable between 2 and 3 speed Super Squirrels. Back in 1926 Y9300 (the engine in this bike) left the factory in a 2 speed Super Squirrel with frame no. 1860 and registration no. DW 4926. At some point many years ago this engine was removed and fitted into this 3 Speed Super frame no. 1903 but it continued to bear the same registration number. However, in 1991 the DW 4926 registration number was sold and replaced with APB 834A. It seems very likely that it was at this point, prior to inspection of the machine by the vehicle examiner, that a hole was partially drilled through the "1903" factory stamped frame number, and "1860" was stamped on the headstock to match the registration documents, thus enabling the sale of the original registration number. We thank Ian Parsons, registrar of the Scott Owners Club, for his help in unravelling this story. Please refer to the relevant photographs of these numbers.

None of this slightly complicated history should take anything away from the fact that this is a lovely motorcycle which has been largely in its current form for at least six decades. The vendor tells us that it had a light restoration in 1991. In the recent past he has cleaned and reseated the water dome and replaced the petrol tap. He has fond memories of riding it in the early 2000s alongside his father's other Scotts at Banbury and other VMCC events. He says that "it went very well and was a pleasure to ride". It is fitted with a nice period Smiths speedometer, and was last started just a few weeks ago.

The Scott is accompanied by a printed copy of the invaluable "Scott Technicalities", a large anthology of technical articles which appeared in "Yowl", the Scott Owners Club magazine, over many years. Also supplied are a continuation logbook from 1966, older V5, current V5C, and some old MOTs. It should be noted that despite the "Y" engine prefix, which normally indicates an engine capacity of 596cc, all the registration documents list the capacity as 498cc. Regardless, the vendor tells us that this is a quick bike, although he is unsure of the capacity. It has seen only relatively light use in recent years, and some recommissioning may be advisable. Prospective bidders must satisfy themselves regarding the motorcycle's provenance, condition, age, completeness, and originality prior to placing a bid. Sold strictly as seen.
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