Beschreibung:

“Well into the 1960s and even today, when it is wrapped in a mystique carefully cultivated by thousands of fanatically enthusiastic owners, the big Vincent retained that commanding air about it when you met one on the road, and many a rider of avowedly super-sporting machinery would be humiliated by having some much older Black Shadow come past at the canter…” - L J K Setright. Setright was writing in the 1970s, but what he said about the Vincent v-twin, and the Black Shadow in particular, remains every bit as true today. Ever since the Series A’s arrival in 1937, the Vincent v-twin has been synonymous with design innovation, engineering excellence and superlative high performance. The appeal of the Vincent, and the 120mph-plus Black Shadow in particular, lay in its ability to out-perform just about every other vehicle on the road, and in the early post-war years there was nothing to compare with it. This was a time when the average family saloon was barely capable of reaching 70mph, and not until the advent of Jaguar’s XK120 was there a production sportscar that could live with the thundering v-twins from Stevenage. The vendor advises us that this Series-B Rapide was converted to ‘White Shadow’ specification at the Vincent factory (‘White Shadow’ being the term applied to engines lacking the Black Shadow’s characteristic black finish) while the swinging arm conversion is another non-original feature. In the present ownership for the past 43 years, the machine took part in several Dragon Rallies in the 1960s and has gained numerous first-class awards in high-speed trials. Restored and rebuilt by Len Matthews in 2000, it is described by the private vendor as in excellent condition throughout. The machine is offered with restoration invoices, old-style logbook and Swansea V5 registration document.