Geoff Monty was an English professional motorcycle racer, constructor, rider-sponsor and retail dealer,[1] initially based in Kingston on Thames and later – under the name Monty and Ward – Twickenham areas, near London,[2] [3] with a move to Edenbridge, Kent by 1968.[1] [4] [5]
In the mid-1950s he produced and campaigned his own brand of racing motorcycle known as the "Geoff Monty Special" (GMS), based on his own design of semi-spine frame with rectangular-section swinging-arm and a 350 cc BSA Gold Star engine having modified internals to achieve a capacity slightly under 250 cc.[6]
In 1964 AMC announced their brands would be no longer produce any race machines – the 500 cc Manx Norton and Matchless G50 or the 350 cc AJS 7R.
Monty, in conjunction with his business partner Allen Dudley-Ward, a renowned Triumph tuner and ex-racer,[7] recognised a business opportunity and developed a new machine initially named Monward, based on his proven GMS frame and swinging-arm, initially fitted with a 650 cc Triumph Bonneville engine which was used as a test-bed by then-contracted rider, Bill Ivy.[8] [9]
The name Monward derived from their surnames Monty and Dudley-Ward. The concept was then further developed – as Monty had done with the BSA Gold Star engine – by reducing the 650 cc capacity to under 500 cc, retaining the standard bore of 71 mm but shortening the stroke to 62.5 mm, using a new crankshaft having a shortened throw made by sidecar racer Owen Greenwood[10] together with 10 mm shaved-off the standard cast-iron barrels. Additionally, an option was to instead fit the contemporary Triumph production engine with a standard 500 cc capacity.[11] Both types of engine were tuned and built by Allen Dudley-Ward featuring his Manx Norton oil pump conversion.[8]
The now-oversquare modified engine used the 650 Bonneville twin-carb cylinder head having bigger valves, ports and carburettors than a standard Triumph 500, allowing for efficient air-fuel intake at racing speeds. The 650-size crank journals and main bearings were larger than a 500 which allowed for greater reliability.
When track-testing the 500, Motorcycle Mechanics editor John Houslander reported that the engine would safely rev to 9,000 rpm making a potential 50 bhp and – with Isle of Man gearing and a four-speed gearbox – a top speed of 145mph was likely.[12]
Concurrent with Monty's Monward, Allen Dudley-Ward was developing his own 500 cc race bike, basically a Triumph-engined Manx Norton, which he called DW Special[13] [14] leaving Monty's Monward renamed as Monard.[12]
By 1965, Bill Ivy had joined the Tom Kirby team,[15] leaving Monty as an early sponsor of Ray Pickrell, providing a 250 cc Bultaco, a 350 cc Aermacchi and his own brand-name Monard with a 500 cc Triumph engine.[16] Speaking to Motor Cycle's David Dixon in 1965, Monty confirmed difficulty in finding customers for a complete new racer at 500 GBP, but buyers seemed prepared to pay 400 to 450 GBP for a well-used proprietary Norton or AJS/Matchless factory-produced race bike.[17]
For 1966 Monty turned his attention to building a new Triumph-engined racer based on the then-new Metisse frame.[18] [19] [20] [21] Monty also was a stockist of engineering bearings, offering a mail-order service.[22]
Monty died whilst a resident of Wadebridge, Cornwall during 2009, aged 92. He was pre-deceased by his wife Greta, whom he married in 1941, in 2005.[23] [24] [25] [26]
. Mick Walker (motorcycling) . The BSA Gold Star . 184–186 . 2004 . Redline Books . 978-0-9544357-3-8 .