Wildcat Scooter Frequently Asked Questions

I have recently made contact with my old buddy Marten Holdway from those far off racing days. He owned and raced several Wildcat machines (including the ex Geoff Stephens Works 125cc 5 port Vega)
Marten worked in Rafferty Newman's Stores Department for a number of years in the early 70's. He has a wealth of inside knowledge stored in his noggin from that magic era. He has generously offered to help me in my personal quest to record as much information about the Wildcats as possible for posterity before our alcohol fuddled brains lose these priceless memories to the annuls of time forever.

If there is something you would like to know about the old Rafferty Newman Wildcat Scooter Racing team and their machines, please email me with your question. I will endeavour to answer it to the best of my ability, and add it to this web page.

A two tone scheme consisting mostly of Blue with Yellow flashes.
The original Wildcats had yellow sign writing on the panels and legshields. The original 225cc Special also had a pouncing cougar painted on the side panels in yellow on a blue background.
I seem to remember the Wildcat Tv175 had pure chrome side panels.
On the blue front legshield was a gold 'Wildcat' transfer with 'X5 multiport' sign written underneath in yellow.

The paint used to spray the bikes was ‘Royal blue’ and ‘Golden Yellow’ (sometimes called Daytona Yellow) purchased from Brown Brothers Motor Factors based at Portchester Industrial Estate.

The very first ones used Amal Monoblock carburettors, but as soon as the Amal Concentric carbs were released then all the bikes had them. Much later we ran most of the bikes on the new Dell’orto 30mm downdraft carbs.

We experimented with them but found they caused far too many carburetion problems as speed increased, often creating weak mixtures and exacerbating engine seizures. Geoff spent many fruitless weekends playing around with main jet sizes trying to achieve maximum power without risking flooding at low revs.

The original bikes used the Wildcat patent Amal conversion manifolds, but they evolved into ‘home made’ downdraft manifolds created by cutting them up, removing material and welding them back together at the required angle.
Geoff Stephens first experimented with an old remote float 36mm downdraft Amal carb ( borrowed from his Triumph Trophy I seem to remember) but he ditched it after a short while in favour of the Concentric.

The original racing team consisted of an Sx 125cc, an Sx 150cc, a Tv175cc and an Sx 200cc. The 200cc was later converted into the 225cc special. (then this frame was eventually used for my 158cc wildcat engine)
Les later created a 75cc Luna (which he raced) and a 5 Port 125cc Vega (for Geoff Stephens) a Gp125cc (which Les also raced, and Geoff bought) plus a myriad of other bikes, but not all in Wildcat colours. Both Pete Hockley and Alan Crickmore raced 225cc sidecar outfits utilising 'Wildcat tuned' engines, though they weren't official works bikes.
The Villiers Dayton 250 twin cylinder sidecar outfit was by far the most beautiful Wildcat ever made, sprayed in the Golden Yellow it looked and sounded amazing.
It had its first outing at Thruxton in the Spring of 1970 and caused quite a stir. A large crowd gathered around the machine as it was warmed up in the paddock. Unfortunately it was SO good the racing authorities promptly banned it, considering it more motorcycle than scooter. (even though the engine and frame originated from an English scooter) so much for innovation. I just wish someone had taken some photos of this marvellous machine. To my knowledge no visual record exists of the complete outfit, though I do have a picture of the basic frame before it was built. It was eventually sold to Jenny Stephens, who used it as the basis for her Maico kneeler.
Tony Wilcocks championship winning outfit that I passengered in 1974 was our first attempt at running a 200cc Wildcat engine in a sidecar frame. We only tried it because we were so sick of engine seizures. Alan Crickmore had used the barrel on a solo and decided it wasn't fast enough to be competitive in the 200cc class, so we borrowed it.
It's bottom end torque was perfect for quick getaways from the start line and low down grunt out of corners, and it had sufficient top end for our class. The end result was it turned out to be the most successful barrel Les had ever tuned.

The early ones used a ‘butchered’ Ancilloti to enable extreme angles of lean, with a home made exhaust manifold (much wider bore to match up with enlarged exhaust port) The later bikes used a Yamaha expansion chamber from a Yamaha racing bike motorcycle routed over the top of the engine for maximum clearance.

We used the specially lined Wildcat brake shoes sold in the shop, and had the front disc brake reverse pulled to improve leverage.
We also used the little trick of removing a little material from the outside diameter of the front disc pad to ensure they moved freely in their housings. This aided alignment with the disc and greatly increased efficiency.
The Wildcat 225cc Special that Geoff rode in the early 70's had such superb front disc brakes it threw him over the handlebars at the top of Hairy Hill the first time he rode it at Lydden.
You only had to tickle the front lever and the bike would stop almost dead from any speed, great care needed to be applied because the tyres in those days weren't very sticky. (Geoff had been used to shoe brakes before then, which were quite frankly useless at high speed and had to be given a real handful to achieve any worthwhile stopping power)
I loved that bike, which is why I jumped through hoops to get it as a basis for my Wildcat 158cc.

No, not to my knowledge due to variations in Lambretta engine casting tolerances causing problems with cylinder seating on some engines. Alhough they were sold as a ‘Wildcat’ innovation.

Higher compression because of the special rings being located around the piston crown, plus a crisper opening/closing of the ports.

Difficult to say really. In theory, they should have been. The 200cc British championship winning Wildcat sidecar outfit I passengered in 1974 was fitted with a brand new ‘bog standard’ Lambretta piston between every race outing and never once let us down. Yet the 225cc Wildcat Special was a nightmare for seizures, with or without the Dykes pistons. However the Wildcat 158cc Dykes I rode never once showed any sign of pick up on the piston.

Yes, most definitely. The heads were welded up to fill them in, (including the thread plugged) then re-machined to central squish at a ratio of at least 10:1. with a short central thread drilled and tapped in the middle. Was a nightmare to change the spark plugs, resulting in many burnt fingers.

Racing ‘cold’ NGK’s. (Though the bikes were normally initially fired up on ‘hot’ plugs, and run for a few minutes first to warm the engines up. Because of their high compression ratio’s they wouldn’t start on ‘colds’

An early patented contact breaker less ‘Luminition’ system which utilised a total loss Battery ignition.. This allowed us to massively lighten the flywheels by removing the magnets, placing much less strain on the crankshaft during rapid engine acceleration and braking. Every other fan blade was also removed for extra lightening and less air resistance. Then the remaining fan was dynamically balanced. (The early Wildcats frequently chewed off their flywheels since their spigots were never designed to take so much power and stress)

Yes, but first they were plugged in the lightening holes with cork soaked in Araldite.

Very few, (certainly less than ten) Though it wasn't widely advertised, most of the Wildcat's power came from Les Rafferty's genius with port timing based on many years' experimentation and meticulous engine preparation.

They were very quick for their time, but it is debateable whether the extra transfer ports made all that much difference. Most of the extra performance was probably down to Les Rafferty himself.

As long as it took, he was a perfectionist and time wasn’t an issue. He would often be there in the Workshop till nearly midnight working on the machines.

Les had a little ‘secret’ book of port timing he had jotted down from his early days of Motorcycle racing which he used as a basis for his early Lambretta experiments. I seem to remember that the book was lost (or stolen) some time in the early 70’s and never re-appeared.

I don’t ever remember seeing one, though I may be mistaken here. He always made a point of moving the piston ring pegs to the rear of the piston ring groove to maximise ring strength and reduce the risk of ring fracture.

The over boring of the 200cc barrels to 225cc was, in my opinion, a big mistake.
The barrel walls were far too thin, and distorted as they heated up. No amount of playing around with pistons ever compensated for this.
When Les finally gave up with the larger engines and concentrated on a stock 200cc, the resultant engine was far faster and more reliable than anything we had ever had.

You would have to ask Geoff Stephens himself that question. In terms of the most significant increase in available power at a given point in time, it has to be the 158cc machine that I rode. In terms of pure winning ability then our 1974 sidecar wins hands down, if my memory serves me right we won every race we entered that year. But there were many Wildcats that showed a good pair of heels to their competitors, and the matter is debateable.

Yes, the early Wildcat 75cc Luna. The first Wildcat Gp 125cc. He also had a go at being a sidecar passenger, which unfortunately ended in disaster. (see my website for more details)

In terms of the most successful, it was undoubtedly Geoff Stephens. As much due to his tenacity as his riding skills.
If you meant the most daring, I would have to say Pete Hockley. On a good day he was unbeatable almost regardless of what he was riding, scaring the living daylights out of anyone who watched him. To say he was quick is an understatement; you had to see it to believe it. He defied the laws of gravity.
I remember well a meeting we had at Castle Combe where Pete fitted my 158cc Wildcat engine into his Pacemaker frame and entered the bike in the all comers Specials class. For the majority of the race he held third place against every other machine available, including all the top 200cc and 225cc machines of that era. Where the bigger bikes may have taken him on the straights, he absolutely annihilated them on the long fast corners. We all cheered ourselves hoarse that day.
I believe he almost lapped the second rider in his own class of up to 160cc specials.

From memory, I believe the Wildcat Gp125 would make 70mph, my Wildcat 158 would do between 75-80mph dependant on the circuit, and the Wildcat 225 Special would do around 90mph with Geoff on board. However he weighed in at almost double my pathetic 8.5 stone. When I had a go on it, the speedo indicated in excess of 80mph in 3rd gear. When I snuck it into 4th the needle disappeared off the clock, which meant it was approaching the ton.
That felt pretty quick in those days, believe me.
But top speed was only part of the story…the beauty of the Wildcats was the way they got there. They were always the fastest accelerating bikes around, due to the lightweight flywheel allowing rapid engine rise without risk of tearing off the crank spigot.
We all loved running in the race engines on the road.
Boy, did we have some fun with the local biker fraternity. Up till 1973, the works Wildcat 225 could out accelerate almost any road going motorbike up to 90mph. Geoff would often come back to the shop with a grin from ear to ear telling us stories of how he'd just burned off a Triumph Bonneville.

Not on the early models, but I distinctly remember Geoff having a rev counter fitted on his later Wildcat 200cc machine. It was a very useful tool to identify where changes to the power curve occurred as various engine parts were interchanged, porting modified, or carburetion altered.

That is a very good question, and I wish I knew the answer.
I have no idea of the final destination of the Wildcat 125cc.
The Wildcat 150cc 5 port was bought from the shop by my old mate Keith Champion from The Solent City Scooter Club. He raced it a couple of times, at Mallory Park I believe, with reasonable success. But without Les's clinical attention to it's preparation it was never as good as its 'Works' days. He eventually sold it on, and I do not know of its fate.
The Wildcat 175cc was the bike used by my late friend Richard Holmes to run in his race engine on the road, and it was completely destroyed during the crash at the back of Fareham that ended his life.
The Wildcat 200cc 5 port was converted into the 225cc Special, then subsequently used as the basis for my Wildcat 158cc. I lent it to fellow Hampshire Union rider Graham Richmond for the Isle of Man scooter week in 1973, and I never saw it again. It may still be languishing in his garage somewhere covered in cobwebs for all I know.
If anyone out there knows of its fate, I would love to reclaim it.
Answers on a post card please…

In the early days Les stuck rigidly to his old tried and tested methods of tuning the barrels, but with some considerable encouragement from Geoff he started becoming more adventurous with the later ones. His early engines always had a lot of torque at the lower end which enabled them to pull higher gear ratios. But I remember being very frustrated at Mallory Park on my first ride on the Wildcat 158cc because it felt like I could have stayed in third gear for ever. Top gear just felt way too high. We solved this by replacing the original gearbox to DL125 gears in conjunction with changing the engine drive sprocket to 18 tooth. This gave a much closer ratio box together with a higher revving engine. This tempted Les to tamper with the port timings, changing the exhaust timing to 90 degrees B.T.D.C. This was nearly 10 degrees more advance than he’d had on it before, completely changing the bikes character.
In some respects I wished we’d left it alone to the original spec. because it most definitely lost its competitive edge in terms of acceleration. Although having said that, other bikes weren’t standing still in terms of development either. Roger Myers’ machine began to leave others for dead, lapping almost everyone in his class. This was a serious wake up call for anyone who wanted to remain competitive, and was the catalyst for my retirement from solo racing during the summer of ’73 when I realised that without a complete engine revamp I would always be consigned to a runner up position. The writing was on the wall for Lambretta's anyway, with no more machines being manufactured in Italy, and I became very despondent about its future.

The simple answer to that is 'all of them' There were more Wildcat machines competing in those early days of racing than any other tuned machines from a variety of Tuning houses. You will have to excuse blanks in my memory (it is a very long time ago, more than 35 years) but an example is:-

75cc class -Les Rafferty on the works Wildcat Luna. (later sold to, and raced by John Barlow.)

125cc class - Geoff Stephens on his Wildcat Vega (later sold to, and raced by Marten Holdway) Les Rafferty on the works Wildcat Gp. (There were also rumours of Wildcat involvement in the Vespa bikes of Trev Sharp and Colin Hart)

160cc class - Dave Tooley (yours truly) on the works Wildcat 158, Keith Champion on his privately owned but works tuned Wildcat 5 port 150. Pete Hockley on his private Wildcat Li 150 pacemaker and Dave Burridge on his private Wildcat Li150

Sidecars - Pete Hockley on his Wildcat 225cc outfit. (with either John Dudley or Tim Manhire in the chair) Alan Crickmore with 'Happy' on their Wildcat 225 outfit plus other private riders from the club (such as Graham Pickwell with Tony Wilcocks riding chair, Tony later built and became the pilot of his Championship winning Wildcat outfit on which I was passenger)

225 & 160 Specials - Geoff Stephens on the works Wildcat Sx 225, Dave Tooley on the works Wildcat 158, Graham Oliver on his private 160 machine. The late Dave Bowen (Geoff Stephens brother in law, boob to his friends) on his private Wildcat 225cc (known as Wetherby, basically an old and tatty series one Li frame fitted with a ferociously fast Wildcat 225cc engine) plus a gaggle of other private Wildcat tuned machines from the Hampshire Union club.

This is an interesting question. As the value of old Lambretta's continue to rise, so does the temptation for individuals to claim 'Wildcat' status for the bike they are selling. This can obviously massively enhance its value.
I have been asked on a number of occasions to verify a machine's status, and in virtually ever case I've had to disappoint the owner. It is true that many 'Wildcat' conversion kits were sold by mail order over a number of years, but only a very small number of individual bikes were ever sold as badged 'Wildcats'.
As a guide, due to a large expansion of his business Les Rafferty never had the time to individually build bikes after 1972 (and Italian Lambretta's had ceased manufacturing by then anyway) so that very strictly limits the timeframe for genuine machines spanning from the very late 60's. to very early 70's.
None, as far as I'm aware, had 'Wildcat' stamped on the engine casing (as one guy has recently shown me evidence of) This most definitely has the smell of fraud about it, though probably not a recent event. It may well have been carried out nearly 30 years ago by some budding 'boy racer'
With so many 'Wildcat' decals being given out with every tuning part sold across the counter, and the 'Wildcat' logo transfer being marketed as an individual commodity in itself, it is not surprising that there is so much confusion as to a bikes status. All I can say on this matter is that the original 'Wildcat Equipe' tuning enhancement parts are very easily recognised by their own uniqueness. i.e. Inlet manifold conversion kits, primary compression plates, 5 port barrels etc. However when it comes to stage 1,2 or 3 tuning of the barrels that is a different situation entirely, and I can only reiterate the statement I made to a recent enquirer. I personally would recognise Les Rafferty's handiwork purely by sight. I have mentioned elsewhere on my website that Les was a perfectionist, and the enlarging, shaping and polishing of cylinder ports was a skill he was individually blessed with.
To sum up, unless a machine carries sufficient evidence of being built with a variety of these 'go faster' components, it is worth approaching any potential purchase with some cynicism, purely to protect your wallet.

Were there any special ‘trick’ parts fitted to your 1974 Championship winning sidecar?

Funny you should ask that…LASCA introduced a rule in 1974 that winners of races should be chosen at random to strip down their engine at the scrutineers’ discretion to verify conformance to regulations. I seem to remember rumours going around at the time of our non stop winning streak that we were running a special 250cc engine or something similar, because no-one could believe a 200cc machine could be that quick. Tony Wilcocks did nothing to dispel the stories, enjoying the wind up to our fellow competitors. When we won the last race of the season at Croft which guaranteed our British Championship, our outfit was picked to be one stripped down.
To further fuel the rumours, Tony covered the entire engine in a blanket to protect it from prying eyes whilst he took off the head and cylinder.
The truth was there was absolutely nothing special about the Wildcat 200cc engine powering our machine other than the cylinder carried the usual Les Rafferty genius in the port timing, and Tony was as equally meticulous in his preparation and attention to detail. Because it was in effect a bog standard barrel with plenty of meat around the fins we could thrash the hell out of it in any gear without fear of sudden engine seizure.

Much to my embarrassment my most serious injury occurred of all places at Llandow raceway in Wales during a warming up session in the pits.
I took a low speed tumble from the sidecar when Tony decided to suddenly change direction the opposite way to our previous session. My pride was more dented than my body, or so I thought. But when I clambered back aboard I realised my right hand no longer worked. Thinking I’d only sprained my wrist I got my girlfriend to tightly bind it up with a bandage in a claw shape so as to maintain a modicum of grip. Thank God Llandow is a purely clockwise circuit with no left handers, or I’d have been screwed. At the end of the racing day (we won all our races, and set the fastest lap) my hand had gone black, causing me much consternation and not a little pain. I had to blag a driver to get my Austin Mini home from the circuit complete with me and girlfriend in the back seat. I was in agony now.
Sure enough, the next morning saw me down the hospital getting my arm X rayed.
I’d broken my wrist, and it was in plaster for 16 weeks. I had to hide it from the scrutineers every time we raced, or I’d have been banned from the circuit. I believe the vast majority of rides that year I undertook with my arm secretly in plaster hidden under my leathers.
Tony jokingly called me ‘iron man’. It was worth all the pain and discomfort though to win races.

None that I ever saw, although there was intense rivalry. We all took our racing very seriously once out on the track, and no quarter was expected or given.

Although Les Rafferty was The Man when it came to tuning and engine preparation, Geoff Stephens lived and breathed scooter racing and it began to take over his life. If he wasn't down Rafferty Newmans workshop beavering away on his bike, he'd be out on the road trying out something new. It really got to him that there could possibly be any other machine faster than his (i.e. Colin Armetts special)
His house often became the social focal point of the Wildcat team in the summer. Praise and thanks is long overdue to his wonderful wife Wendy (the late Dave Bowens sister) for her long suffering patience.
To be fair, if time spent on his machine had equated to mph then Geoff's would have been by far the quickest.
In truth, I still firmly believe to this day that Les Rafferty's original Wildcat dykes 225cc special was far and away the most powerful and fastest scooter engine of its time. In fact, in terms of conventional 225cc engines without reed valves or other exotic toys it may have been the fastest ever. However it carried the huge handicap of Geoffs excess weight, and it was still a complete bike with side panels and not a cut down version like the JJM specials that many others were riding.
For a good few years Les Rafferty was adamant that a full machine with sign written panels beating a cut down special was a fantastic advert for his Wildcat brand.
The weight Geoff was giving away to his competitors must have been equivalent to more than a sack of potatoes. (One day as an experiment I actually took his bike out with a sack of spuds on it, and not surprisingly it was considerably slower than without them)
What is more, it was often prone to seizures. When Geoff gave up with it, I actually borrowed the engine for a few outings in the specials class myself.
My God, I had never ridden anything so terrifyingly quick in my life. On my first outing on it at Snetterton I struggled to keep the front wheel on the deck as the flag dropped and I rocketed past almost everyone down the mile long Norwich straight on the opening lap like they were standing still.
I simply couldn't believe its power, but Geoff just smiled at me as I scorched past him because he knew what was coming.
Passing Nev Frost in second place I rounded the hairpin bend at the end of the straight and was closing rapidly on Colin Armett. I remember thinking to myself "Christ! I can win this race" when I suddenly experienced that sickening rapid deceleration as the piston once again tightened in the cylinder bore. Too late I realised what was happening and before I could grab the clutch lever the rear wheel locked, violently and unceremoniously launching me off my bike just as I had dropped her into third gear and banked hard left to sweep under the bridge. That must be one of the fastest crashes I've ever had on a scooter, (probably well in excess of 90mph) and left me with scars on my backside that I still carry today. Boy did that hurt. I was extremely lucky that the following riders never ran straight over me, because there was very little room for manoeuvre due to the high speed and blind nature of that bend. The velocity at which the accident occurred didn't do much to improve the looks of my bike either.
With hindsight it was most probably my own fault that the engine locked. On my Wildcat 158cc brakes weren't really necessary under that bridge. Just dropping it down a cog at 75 mph was adequate engine braking to line the machine up for the corner. But the Wildcat 225cc was approaching 100mph when I dropped her into third, way too fast for the piston to take that sort of abuse. (The gearing it ran on was similar to my Wildcat 158)
I played around with that engine for a few more rides at Lydden Hill and Castle Combe, but it really destroys your confidence knowing that at any moment the wheels can be snatched from under you. I fully understand why Geoff called it a day with that beast of a bike.
I seem to remember actually giving that barrel away to someone years later during a garage clear out, although to whom escapes me now. I wish to God I'd kept it. Those port timings would have been priceless now. Let alone the posterity value of actually owning a bit of Wildcat history.

Mostly through trial and error based on previous knowledge and experience of what works on 2 stroke engines and what doesn't. (Although this wasn't always successful, as Les discovered when tuning a variety of different capacity machines.)
Unlike today's methods of computer engine mapping, we most generally had to find out the hard way. Either by road testing after a mod and an engine rebuild, or track testing it on race day. Sometimes the latter was the only way of ultimately proving the reliability of an engine mod, but could prove costly to your championship points if it turned out to cause engine failure. I know some teams were rumoured to be using Dynamometers to extract the maximum grunt from their machines.
Geoff would sometimes ride his racing bikes to work so as to put some mileage on a new piston before a race meeting to prevent the risk of seizure, and use the ride to test out different carburetion settings.
We had our disappointments with some engines, and with only a limited amount of time to investigate the cause of power loss between race meetings sometimes it was better to cut your losses and start again afresh. A classic case in point was my Wildcat 158cc engine. It was initially built for Alan Crickmore, and he must have ridden it unsuccessfully 2 or 3 times with engine strips between meetings before abandoning it as a lost cause. I only acquired it because my privately tuned engine had self destructed at a Mallory Park event and I'd pleaded with Les to lend me any engine just so I could get a ride. Before giving it to me Les stripped it down for the third time and really dug deep to discover the power shortage. Unbelievably, due to an oversight he discovered he'd missed a 3mm mismatch between the gudgeon pin location on the special Yamaha piston he had used to increase the engine capacity up to 158cc (from the standard 148cc) this had resulted in a dramatic loss of compression in the cylinder head at TDC. The only way to correct this was to machine material from the cylinder barrel. When he rebuilt it and I took it out for a test ride to run in the new piston rings I was absolutely astounded by its power. It felt more like the works 225cc than a 158cc. I was extremely excited about its potential but I never really said much to anyone about the engines huge power boost until the bikes debut at a rain soaked Mallory in case Cricky claimed it back. Then it spoke for itself, absolutely annihilating the opposition in a straight line.
I won the race, setting a new lap record in my class.
It was only my lack of racing experience with high speed cornering in the wet that prevented me from really clearing off and leaving them for dead, it was that fast.
I'm sure someone as skilled as Alan Crickmore would have lapped the field.
Anyone who has raced at Mallory Park knows about the apparently unending 200 degree Gerrards Bend that is taken absolutely flat out in top gear, right over on your ear with your rear running board dragging the track. One slip and you're history.
It didn't help knowing my previous race at Mallory ended quite spectacularly when my engine disintegrated just as I entered the chicane, launching me into the Armco barrier at high velocity. This is me way off line, on the absolute limit, engine seized and going far too fast into the chicane at Mallory Park. (Note the unprotected Armco barriers) Ouch!!! I still have the scars)

I had to fight tooth and nail to keep the engine after that because everyone in the Wildcat team wanted a ride on it. I owe a debt of gratitude to Geoff for persuading Les to allow me to retain it, since I wasn't actually a member of the Hampshire Union Wildcat team at the time. I raced under the banner of The Solent City Scooter Club. This was very soon resolved when shortly afterwards the Solent City club disbanded. From then on, I was a fully paid up member of the Hampshire Union and became a bona fide Wildcat Works Rider.

The Rafferty Newman shop became official Uk distributors for the Yamaha concern in the mid 70's.
Les Rafferty seized the opportunity and created a works Wildcat 125cc Yamaha utilising a pukka Yamaha race kit.
It was sprayed in the conventional Yellow and Blue livery of the Wildcat team, and Les 'breathed' his personal magic on the engine.
However there were few left in our stable of riders who were still willing or able to carry on with this very time consuming and personally expensive sport.
Hence it was offered to ex Supertune rider Ron Moss to ride it.
There are some photos of him aboard the machine at Lydden Hill on my website.
Tony Wilcocks and I moved on to race a Terry Windle framed Motorcycle Sidecar at National level.
With Les's help and contacts in the trade we managed to obtain a Works Norton 750 Commando Combat engine and Quaife gearbox from the Norton Andover Factory. It even had PW (Peter Williams) stamped on the piston crowns, and we believe it was actually one of his own racing engines from his Works Racing days when he was the fastest man around the Isle of Man.
Oh boy, was that engine quick…
Faster in first gear than our Scooter sidecar in top.
Please see this webpage for further details:-

Rafferty Newman was formed from a partnership of Les Rafferty and Ian Newman. (known as Ned to his friends) see website.
The only time I saw Ned at a Race meeting was at Crystal Palace (Photos on website) and perhaps Thruxton in Andover in 1970, although I missed out on the early days from the late 60's because of my youth so I cannot comment on that era.
Ned was more involved in the commercial side of the Rafferty Newman partnership, and played little part in what went on in the workshop. He tended to spend most of his time dealing with customers in the Showrooms and Stores departments.
Les was always the 'engineer' and driving force behind the racing Wildcat scooters, and could often be seen working late into the night on the bikes.
Having said that, Ned was very commercially astute and recognised the value of good publicity. He made damn sure that the scootering fraternity were made very aware of the Wildcat successes on the race track and grass track events. After every event the bright blue and yellow bikes would all be lined up on Monday outside their showrooms in Fareham with a large placard boasting of their winning results. He also plugged them very hard in the way of producing 'flyers' which were printed out by the hundred and handed out free in the shop.

It didn't take long for the 'biker' magazines of that era to cotton on to the fact that something 'interesting' was going on down South, and before long the name 'Wildcat' became very well known both locally and internationally. Visits to their stores in Fareham became a bit of a pilgrimage for entire Scooter Clubs of a weekend, and it was a regular thing to find it difficult to locate a parking space at the back of their shop on a Saturday morning. Sometimes, if they were lucky, visiting customers would get a sneak preview of the Wildcat racing machines as they were wheeled out of the workshop and fired up for the last time before being loaded up into a van and driven off to a race meeting somewhere far away.
Pete Hockley and John Dudley were particularly excellent at scaring the living daylights out of anyone viewing their antics in the car park. A large part of it was covered in a fine shingle, which was superb for providing colossal full throttle sideways power slides on their Wildcat sidecar outfit. They would tear up and down giving a spectacular display for the public to watch. Crowds would gather outside the shop when this went on, for the duo of Pete and Dud loved playing to an audience. I always thought they both had a screw loose when it came to their personal safety, never believing that a few years later I would be doing exactly the same thing on our outfit. (Albeit not to the lunatic level attained by the aforementioned nutters) You never lose that manic streak if you're blessed/cursed with it. I'm convinced that if these guys returned to the race track even now they would be winners.
I still find it hard to accept that this took place almost 40 years ago when I was a young spotty teenager, and still at school. What a grand pair they were! The sport sadly lost a unique couple of characters (and exceptional riders) when they both decided to hang up their leathers in the early 70's. As a sporting and highly competitive twosome, they were irreplaceable.

This is a rather personal question, and I can only speak for myself.
I know that some people found Les a little distant and unapproachable, but that was just Les's way. He was a very private and unassuming person, not in the least gregarious as you would imagine someone in his position to be. When I got to know him personally, I found him to be a great guy. He was very loyal to people who went out of their way to help themselves, i.e. those who didn't just sponge off his business for parts, and use him to do things they could easily have done themselves.
Most of the works Wildcat riders built and maintained their machines themselves, using Les only as their mentor and guide. He would still do the highly technical stuff, such as profiling the barrels and special machining of parts. This is why I keep on emphasising that Les was a perfectionist, and wouldn't tolerate shoddy workmanship. A works rider had to be prepared to spend an inordinate amount of time preparing his own race machine, because it wasn't worth facing Les's wrath if he found something beneath his very own high standards when he came to put his final touches to it.
This became a lot more important as we moved into the early 70's, because Rafferty Newman's motorcycle business was really taking off. Les found he had less and less time to concentrate on the Wildcat machines, quite often sitting in his office until very late at night just going through work related documents. Any spare time he had was precious, and there are always better things to do than hang around an oily workshop until nearly midnight. Especially if you've already been there since early morning.

That depends what is implied by 'Socialise'
When I first got to know him Les wasn't a drinker, and he would lambaste anyone who would rather go out to the pub than spend their evenings working on their bikes. He mellowed a bit in later years when there were fewer bikes to worry about.
I was especially grateful and proud when Les volunteered to take the photos for my Wedding Album in September 1975.
I remember well the time Les was invited to one of our parties at my friend and racing colleague Marten's house, and much to our surprise he turned up. What is more he stayed all night. (crashing out on the settee if I recall correctly) What a night that was, and to follow it on we drove up to Mallory Park the following morning to watch an International Motorcycle race.
Several times in the early 70's he took me up to London in his new Audi car to visit the Racing and Sporting Motorcycle Exhibition at Earls Court. This was quite an experience for me because I was only in my late teens, and to be given a 'trade pass' to wander around the show before it even opened to the public was amazing.
Because Les had raced himself and been involved in the motorcycle racing scene since the mid 50's he was on first name terms with all the big names in the sport.
I wandered around the exhibition in awe, being introduced to many of the Sports top names such as Phil Read and Barry Sheene. (who incidentally I got to know very well because on many occasions I went to International Motorcycle race meetings with Les, and he would chat away to his father Frank Sheene leaving me with Barry to discuss his racing over a cup of tea)
As you can imagine, this was a very enviable position to be in. Some fans would have given their eye teeth just to get Barry's autograph, let alone get invited into his caravan for a cuppa. (Barry was almost the same age as me, so we had a fair bit in common)
Little did I know how big a name Barry would get in the sport in the following years. I was very upset to learn of Barry's untimely death a few years ago, because I thought of him as a friend.

Did being a rider of a works Wildcat machine make you feel pressured to win?

Certainly…it was far more important to give of your very best when the reputation of Les Rafferty's race tuning and the whole Wildcat team was at stake. This was why most of the Hampshire Union riders formed an almost 'social club' environment in the workshops during the evenings after work. We would be constantly fussing around our machines, and our girlfriends would group up elsewhere within the showrooms doing their 'girly' things. To be fair, Les was sympathetic to mechanical disasters if they never originated from poor preparation. But God forbid anyone whose machine failed because they'd had a night down the pub, instead of knuckling down to some hard graft on their bikes. Les could have a very dry and cutting wit. I was never absolutely sure if he really meant some of the things he came out with, or it was just a wind up to try and chivvy riders up to try harder. It certainly made me sit up and take notice.
I can still hear his comments echoing in my ears now when anyone tried to give excuses for a poor result.

"Ah well, that's it mate. This is what happens when you go out p*ssing it up instead of concentrating on your bike" was a favourite line of his regardless of whether there was any truth in it.
Bless him, we all loved him for it regardless of whether the comment was aimed at us, or someone else (much more preferable)
Funnily enough, in the latter years Les discovered the wonders of Carlsberg Special Brew, and we no longer got chastised for letting our hair down occasionally.

I remember most vividly losing a race whilst leading at Cadwell Park when the rear wheel collapsed on my machine just as I rounded the hairpin at the base of 'The Mountain'. I was a nervous wreck whilst awaiting the post mortem on why it had happened. Thank goodness it turned out to be the spline failing on the rear hub of my Wildcat 158cc which I'd had no part in removing or replacing (the entire engine belonged to the shop) but it gave me a worrying time until the investigation was completed.
Unfortunately we would often have situations where engine parts would randomly fail due to the huge increase in stress being applied to standard components that otherwise would last for the life of the machine. This was no consolation to us guys who'd sweated blood over our bikes, and given up all our free time to try and ensure a trouble free ride. There was only so much you could do.

How did it feel to be part of the internationally renowned Wildcat racing team?

It could be pretty unnerving actually, because so much was expected from us. Everyone knew the 'Wildcat' bikes, they were so prominent because of their 'loud' colour scheme that you stuck out like a sore thumb, and couldn't just blend in with the crowd if you were having a bad day. But when things went well, I was proud to be riding one of Les Rafferty's works bikes. Especially when I really felt like I had ridden a hard race and come out on top.
There were so many top riders in my class it was a pleasure to race against them on equal terms with regard to machinery. These were guys who used to lap me not just once, but sometimes twice when I was riding my private machine. It took me a while to build up the confidence to challenge highly experienced riders like Nick Barnes on fast tight corners, especially at places like Lydden Hill, but after a few successful races against him I realised that these guys weren't unbeatable. However there was no room to relax on the track, unless you rode to the limit of your ability and beyond there would always be someone on your tail to challenge you.

Very badly, in a number of ways.
I'd been a personal friend of Les, his wife and daughters for a number of years and his sudden unexpected death was a huge jolt.
(I've already previously mentioned that Les took all the photos at my wedding)
I can quite clearly remember walking around in a daze for hours after my wife phoned me at work with the news. Firstly I was in shock, and then I became quite tearful and had to go home.
He was only 48, his business was really taking off and he was in the prime of his life.
You simply don't imagine losing someone close of that age to a heart attack. But that was exactly what happened.
He'd only recently moved with his family to a very large house near Titchfield, and quite naturally they were all devastated at their loss.
His funeral service at Fareham Holy Trinity Church was a very emotional affair leaving many of us in tears. I'll never forget it.
With hindsight it is arguable that stress was the primary cause of his demise, since Les had been working ridiculously long hours for many years to build up his business.
The fire that devastated their Fareham showrooms cannot have helped his situation. He'd had a 'warning' attack a few years previously on the way home from a race meeting when he told us he didn't feel well whilst stopping off in Hastings. That was a shot across the bows for him to rest up, lose a little weight and take things easy for a while. But it didn't last.

As an aside, his passing away spelt the end of my motorcycle racing career. Les had been in negotiations with Suzuki GB to acquire an ex Barry Sheene Suzuki 3 cylinder Formula 750 engine for our motorcycle sidecar outfit. Without Les around to champion our cause, the whole deal foundered.

I don't think anyone who answers this question honestly would say they held a preference to racing in wet conditions. The Wildcats were probably less stable in the rain than many machines due to their harsh acceleration. Because the excessive weight of the magnets had been eliminated from their flywheels, the Wildcats had very little low down torque (otherwise known as flywheel effect) and had to be given a good handful of revs to get into the power band. When they did get into that band, the power came in with a bit of a rush. This is not the best way of controlling your rear wheel in slippery conditions as you exit a corner. However my first ride on my Wildcat 158 machine at Mallory Park's club circuit (with the tight chicane) was held in torrential rain, and I managed ok, so it can't have been that bad.
I do have to say here that the Wildcat 225cc Special was a real brute, and riding that in the wet was an entirely different story.

Nice simple answer to this one, it was Damned Cold!
Many of our race meetings were held right at the beginning or the end of the race season because of the cost of hiring the circuit. The result was we often arrived at the circuit to find a rock hard frost. Setting up our tents to sleep in was quite often out of the question because the ground was so hard, and we would all crash out in the van. Early the following morning we would all be wandering around shivering and trying desperately to get a hot coffee to warm ourselves up. This bitterly cold start often meant we wouldn't warm up all day. I dreaded places like Cadwell Park and Snetterton, they were so exposed. Lydden Hill wasn't much better either. The wind would whistle around you all day long draining any core heat right out of your body. Leathers might be hot in the summer, but believe me they were no help at keeping you warm at the nether ends of the season.
I finally abandoned that jumper for safety reasons when my left arm got caught in another machine whilst riding sidecar.

In terms of all factors considered, it had to be Mallory Park. I loved that circuit. Easy to get to, the nice roomy pits, the warm and friendly atmosphere of the club bar to welcome you when you arrived.
Just an all round good place.
I was gutted when L.A.S.C.A. dropped it from the race calendar. No other circuit we used held a candle to it.

I raced solo machines in every Road Race from the beginning of the 1971 season to mid-season 1973, then I carried on as a passenger to Tony Wilcocks sidecar to the end of the '74 season. I also entered a variety of Grass Track and Rally events spread over from 1969 to 1974.
In the early days of Road Racing we had 3 races per class per event, with your 3 positions averaged out to decide your final place. Since I sometimes entered up to 3 different classes per event this gave me a fair bit of time and experience on the track.
I had the '75 season off because I bankrupted myself buying a house towards the end of '74 and I was also saving up for my impending marriage.
In 1976 I passengered Tony Wilcocks 750cc Commando outfit.
We were going to race at International events in the 1977 season once we'd attained an International license, but Les Rafferty's untimely death ended our dreams.
So my bike racing covered a total period of 7 years. A considerable slice out of my life. I really missed it badly when I first gave it up, and still spectated at many events for a few years afterwards. The joys and crippling costs of parenthood in 1978 finally put paid to any dreams of returning to the track.

Yes, often. Though I have no idea of when or where I would ride it anymore.
I've also had fantasies of riding a much bigger machine around, like a Honda blackbird.
Part of the pleasure of owning a bike is having fellow riders to go out with.
Many of the guys I hung out with in my youth are nearing retirement now. How scary is that?
They'll probably remain fantasies, when you own a house there is always something else to spend your money on.

The first Wildcat riders were:-
Alan Crickmore (a.k.a. Cricky)
Pete Hockley
Dave Bowen (a.k.a. Boob)
Frank Ball (a.k.a. Raggy)
John Dudley (a.k.a. dud)
This later expanded to include:-
Dave Tooley (moi)
Geoff Stephens
Les Rafferty
John Barlow
Tim Manhire
Graham Oliver
George Matthews (one off sidecar event)
Tony Wilcocks
Ron Moss (wildcat Yamaha)
Plus many more on privately funded machines from the Hampshire Union Scooter Club.

In the early days we all used Duckhams 2 Stroke Oil supplied from the Rafferty Newman stores. However Geoff Stephens struck up a deal with the local distributor of Geedol competition oil. We received a free supply of their lubricant for our race machines in return for displaying their stickers on our bikes.
It's only my opinion and don't quote me on it, but to be brutally honest I don't think it made a blind bit of difference to the performance of our machines. Our 225cc specials seized up with Duckhams, and they also seized up with Geedol. Yet the other capacity machines never seized up, and I never noticed a blind bit of difference to engine performance no matter what we used.
I think it was far more important to concentrate on the ratio of oil to fuel and the fine mixture adjustments via the carburettor settings related to weather conditions on race day, than worry too much about specific oils.

I'm no expert on this, but what I can tell you is Les would put an enormous effort into getting the ignition timing absolutely spot on.
He would affix a 360 degree timing wheel to the end of the crankshaft and then painstakingly rotate the backplate a little at a time, checking the timing with a bulb and battery until it was exactly to his specifications. This was all part of Les Rafferty's meticulous engine preparation.

Since you were based so Southerly, did the Wildcat team find it hard to travel so far to race meetings?

Some of the more remote ones were a bit of a pig. Cadwell Park and Snetterton used to take us pretty much all night to get there. Many of the riders worked on a Saturday, thus by the time we had travelled around picking everyone up it was often very late before we even got started on our journey. For most of the meetings we hired a van to take a group of riders and bikes, and hopefully could recruit a mug to do the driving. God knows how we managed to sleep on the journey, but somehow despite the overwhelming stink of petrol and the unbelievably cramped conditions in the vehicle we would manage to get a modicum of shut-eye. When I think of how many bodies and bikes we would cram into those vans, it's a damn miracle we weren't arrested and banged up. If the van ever had to stop in a hurry, the results were quite often catastrophic for the poor passengers. With bikes falling over on top of people, and tools plus petrol cans scattered everywhere.
An example was Dave Burridge's old Ford Anglia van. We would get 2 or even 3 bikes into that and up to 6 people by wrapping them around the machines. The plan being we would sleep in tents when we got there. Quite often this plan collapsed because it was so cold on arrival, then it was devil take the hindmost as to who could claim a bit of van floor space with their sleeping bag. Of course with all that weight in his vehicle Dave's top speed was only about 45mph anyway (downhill with a following wind), thus it was normally dawn before we got to our destination so sleep was out of the question.
This often led to some very tired riders by the time we ventured on to the track.
I sometimes wonder how we did it and achieved such good results, considering the state of us on occasions. Then of course we had to return home late Sunday evening/Monday morning. I have vivid memories of not going to bed at all and simply going straight to work after a quick cup of coffee following some of those more distant events.

Well, the answer to that is both yes and no…none of us wanted to let the side down by not performing well on Les's Wildcat bikes, since our results reflected on the shops reputation. But you have to remember we did this for no other reason than fun, plus the adrenalin buzz that came from competing against others and coming out on top. I think everyone who competes in a sport where personal injury is a distinct possibility gets a little nervous before the start. But once that flag had dropped and the race was under way, all thought of nerves was gone and it was just a battle to get to the front and stay there. Several of our teams riders, myself included, had some pretty dramatic crashes resulting in broken bones and severe bruising, but it never put us off getting straight back on our bikes and trying a little harder. I think when racing is in your blood everything else gets pushed into second place, including the potential dire consequences of your actions.

Well, you could argue that I did at the beginning since I initially raced under the Solent City Scooter Club banner.
But seriously, I am confident that there was some serious Wildcat involvement in the Class winning Vespa's of Colin Hart and Trevor Sharp. They were both frequently seen around the Rafferty Newman workshops of a weekend talking to Les in dark corners, and I'm sure they weren't just social calls.
Ron Moss rode the works Wildcat Yamaha. See here
Several Eastleigh Hornet bikes used Wildcat engines, most notably Alan Crickmore.
You would probably also find a lot of Wildcat proprietary parts on many racing machines of the time, but most riders wouldn't admit to it, preferring to claim the performance gain as their own.
Other well known riders of the time who shall remain nameless would also quite frequently try to pick Les's brains about his tuning methods, but Les would keep pretty tight lipped about anything which may give our competitors an advantage.

In those days we made them.
They were created from a piece of thick sheet aluminium, machined to an elliptical shape on a vertical mill. The holes to mount them were drilled in to marry up with the horn casting fittings. It was then painted white, and stick on numbers added to it.
There was a time when you could buy them ready made, but that was in the days when there were hundreds of scooters racing at every meeting. I doubt if you could get them now.
I'm sure if you go to a local machine shop with a hardboard template cut to the size and shape you wanted, they could oblige with a piece of aluminium.