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on 16 September 1931, while driving a motorcycle combination, 16km from Bern on a business trip to Geneva, accompanied by a Bosch engineer as his passenger. He appears to have had a stroke or heart attack, which caused the outfit to swerve off the road, hitting a tree. Both Le Vack and
Passenger were
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Edmund that re-awakened his interest in motorcycle racing. Tuning up the Edmund led to the neglect of his business, so when he had an offer of employment from
Wallace he agreed and began developing Duzmo engines. He then built a competition motorcycle that he used in competitions and demonstrations.
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Bert le Vack was born in North London and was of
Scottish descent, the son of an upholsterer and antique dealer Albert Edward le Vack. Bert's grandfather was John le Vack, a Scottish steam locomotive engineer, who moved to London from his birthplace in
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thrown off. Le Vack broke his neck, but the passenger was uninjured. The event was reported in the
Journal de Geneva of 17 September 1931. His ashes were returned to England and interred near Brooklands in St Mary's churchyard,
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Le Vack was very much in favour of using alcohol-based fuels in racing and obtained supplies from a London distillery. This led to an offer to work as an engine designer for John A. Prestwich, founder of the
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as the works rider, chief designer and tuner. Le Vack was killed in a sidecar accident on 16 September 1931 near Bern, but is generally regarded as being one of the greatest racing motorcyclists of his day.
227:. In 1912 he competed in the London to Edinburgh Run and in 1913 he was working with another JAP test rider at Brooklands called John Wallace, who was sacked for being 'under age'. On the outbreak of
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develop their
British vee-twin into what he called a "Yank-buster" – the 'Super Big Twin', so called because of its 986 cc ohv engine. (Indian subsequently dropped out of international competition).
262:. He joined their London Depot and developed the eight valve Indian engine. Bert married Ethel Dale in 1912 and there were four children. He divorced Ethel in 1929 and later remarried.
331:. The inscription on his gravestone simply states 'In Loving Memory of Herbert Le Vack, Dearly Beloved Husband of Mary Helen Le Vack, Who Died in Switzerland, 16 September 1931'.
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in 1923 with the title 'The Making of a Speed Man', he described his early days when he nearly blew himself up by looking into a petrol tank at night with a match.
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with the 976 cc vee-twin JAP engine. As well as his tuning knowledge, le Vack gained a reputation for blending special racing fuels and had his own workshop in the
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Races. Bert won the
Brooklands 500 in 1921 on a 1000 cc Indian. In 1923 he secured second place in the 1923 Lightweight Tourist Trophy Races with a
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Although le Vack only stayed with JAP for four years he played a significant part in their success and JAP advertisements in the
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318:. Motosacoche built racing motorcycles and le Vack joined as the works rider, chief designer and tuner and was killed in the
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factory. Described as a quietly spoken man with few friends, le Vack became something of an enigma. in a rare interview for
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world speed record holder throughout the 1920s and earned the nickname the 'Wizard of
Brooklands' for his exploits at
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Bird, Roger (2008) 'A Glimpse of the
Vintage Years of Motorcycling at Brooklands' (published by the author, no ISBN).
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He called the bike the 'Ace' and then it became the 'Duzmo' in 1920 when Bert became well known as a racer.
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An expert racing engine tuner, le Vack worked for some of the great marques and in the late 1920s joined
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and turned their talents to designing, assembling and testing aero engines. Wallace founded
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250 cc – despite a breakdown that meant he had to push the bike half a mile to the finish.
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After the war le Vack had his own garage and it was a chance exchange of a Scott for an
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347:'s Broughs tuned. He also rode for the leading manufacturers of the 1920s, including
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In the 1914 Senior TT he averaged 45 mph (72 km/h) and won a Gold Medal.
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Powerplus on which he won the famous 500-Mile Race at
Brooklands in 1921 to help
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at the New Hudson works, Bert went to
Motosacoche and rode for them in the 1914
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he began tuning motorcycles and won the first hill climb he entered on a 1909
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Towards the end of 1920 Bert moved to the Hendee Manufacturing Co, who made
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company who produced racing engines for many top marques, including
219:. Le Vack began his racing career on bicycles but once he visited
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314:, Switzerland, for whom he had already ridden in the 1914
203:. Bert's first job was with Legros and Knowles, of
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69:Learn how and when to remove this message
327:not far from the grave of racing driver
32:This article includes a list of general
754:Motorcycle racers who died while racing
409:107.5 miles per hour (173.0 km/h)
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274:. Le Vack used his experience of the
231:they both joined Scottish car makers
769:World record setters in motorcycling
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749:Motorcycle land speed record people
161:Motorcycle racing and world records
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38:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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170:(1888 – 16 September 1931) was a
153:Racer and specialist engine tuner
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623:"Two-wheeled Land Speed Record"
649:"Cavendish Drive speed trials"
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217:London General Omnibus Company
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525:Motorcycle Land-Speed Record
355:and Zenith, After a time in
306:On 1 January 1930 he joined
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759:Sport deaths in Switzerland
734:British motorcycle pioneers
709:The le Vack family web site
520:Brough Superior Motorcycles
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597:"Memorial to Bert le Vack"
361:Isle of Man Tourist Trophy
316:Isle of Man Tourist Trophy
207:. He moved on to work for
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764:Sportspeople from London
16:British motorcycle racer
482:Brough Superior 995 cc
465:Brough Superior 867 cc
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53:more precise citations.
515:New Hudson Motorcycles
339:Bert le Vack rode for
168:Herbert 'Bert' le Vack
744:Isle of Man TT riders
571:"New Hudson History"
545:"Duzmo Motorcycles"
499:New Hudson 500 cc
252:Indian motorcycles
205:Willesden Junction
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433:Cavendish Drive,
289:showed Bert on a
237:Duzmo Motorcycles
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124:(aged 42–43)
120:16 September 1931
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272:Brough Superior
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678:. Retrieved
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549:the original
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449:111.1 m.p.h
365:New Imperial
353:New Imperial
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329:Parry Thomas
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122:(1931-09-16)
87:Bert le Vack
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729:1931 deaths
724:1888 births
493:Brooklands
417:Brooklands
414:1923-11-10
387:Motorcycle
308:Motosacoche
287:Motor Cycle
256:Springfield
244:MAG-engined
229:World War I
187:Switzerland
183:Motosacoche
140:Nationality
133:Switzerland
51:introducing
718:Categories
531:References
473:1929-8-25
399:Brooklands
357:Birmingham
320:Swiss Alps
221:Brooklands
176:Brooklands
172:motorcycle
34:references
454:1924-7-6
435:Clipstone
295:Tottenham
201:Caithness
111:, England
659:3 August
509:See also
496:England
476:Arpajon
384:Country
215:and the
680:16 July
633:17 July
607:16 July
581:16 July
555:16 July
485:129.07
479:France
468:118.93
462:France
458:Arpajon
425:108.48
406:Indian
325:Byfleet
225:Triumph
209:Daimler
144:British
47:improve
390:Speed
381:Place
349:Indian
312:Geneva
276:Indian
213:Napier
109:London
36:, but
490:1927
430:1924
395:1921
378:Year
127:near
682:2008
661:2008
635:2008
609:2008
583:2008
557:2008
502:100
194:Life
129:Bern
117:Died
105:1888
102:Born
443:UK
420:UK
403:UK
310:in
280:JAP
268:JAP
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
