Frank Ball's Ulton for sale

[John Wakefield]

This is being advertised as follows on Facebook by current owner Tony Lockwood of Bristol.

Change of plans forces sale.
Ex Frank Ball Oulton racer, 5 speed Albion gearbox, Oulton engine numbered 122, Electrex world ign, special frame built by Frank Ball, Spondon front brake. Picture in the book ‘Greeves’ page 112 shows the bike with the 500 Greeves engine modified by Bob Stephenson as the SELVA, this engine is included with the sale, rebuilt crankshaft but engine requires a gearbox, clutch and ign to complete. Bike as it is won the NSA Sprint championship in 2018 & 19 for its class and holds the unbeaten class track record for Westonzoyland 1/4 mile at 14.326s 92.45mph. Still a very competitive machine for sprint or parade and very economical to run. ?6,995 ovno please message me for more details.

[tonyed27]

By the time Frank was developing and racing this machine, most of us had served our sojourns racing British two and four strokes and had 'moved on' (or sold our souls) to racing those horrible, fast, eventually reliable Japanese Yamahas. Not Frank though.
Snetterton, can't remember the exact year but would be early to mid 70s, double header, so probably a Sunday Newmarket meeting followed a bank holiday Snetterton combine on the Monday.
Most of us had fettled the 'rice burners' for the next day and retired to the track bar for a little R and R.
Some while later with dusk upon us (so it was probably Easter weekend) with silence descending as the last of the fettlers retired to the bar the plaintive wail of a two stroke single rent the silence, followed abruptly by the sound of something crashing into metal and the scraping of motorcycle against tarmac, a sound once heard never forgotten, especially from the riders PoV.
We all rushed out leaving precious pints to fend for themselves to find Frank dusting himself off and retrieving the Greeves from where it had come to a halt, on its' side on the starting grid.
Having had some problems during Sundays meeting (situation normal) Frank had fettled longer than most and taken the bike out onto the track for a surreptitious test session only coming through Russel Chicane and finding, in the fading light of the rapidly oncoming evening, the portable steel barrier placed across the track which had been obscured from Franks vision placed there to discourage such 'antics'.
Well, laugh!
Some poor souls spent their whole lives trying to achieve 'world dominance' or 'universal fame' Frank though tried the impossible - to get that bl@@dy Greeves running properly.
RIP Frank
Big capacity Greeves singles were renown for their ability to defeat even the most tenacious. Trevor Elliot was one such having converted one to a 380 (I think) water cooled racer. Relying only on thermosiphon cooling he found it more suitable for tea making than racing. he then turned to the delights of the Rising Sun.
Geoff Barr's (nee Bastard) air-cooled 380 is probably still languishing somewhere in a barn in East Dereham, some 50 odd years on.
Oh happy days