An angelic demon

Mention the name ‘DOT’ to any classic off-road motorcycle enthusiast and they will be instantly taken back to that golden era of off-road sport in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where the Manchester-made, Villiers-powered two-strokes were at the head of the field in both trials and scrambles.

Not only did top stars like Alan Clough, Pat Lamper, John Griffiths and Ken Messenger take on – and often beat – the factory Greeves in the quarter litre scrambles class, in one day trials the works supported team comprising of Lamper, Eric Adcock and Norman Eyre – plus Arthur and Lyn Pulman on their sidecar – meant there was hardly a national trial where a DOT didn’t appear in the results.

So much so, in 1963 it persuaded West Country man Giles Pursey to buy himself the latest 250cc trials Demon. Bought from Ginger Dunn Motorcycles in Bridport – partially dismantled in a crate to avoid purchase tax – the DOT was put together on the Saturday of the May bank holiday and the following day earned Giles a second class award in the Lyn club’s Traders Trophy event on Exmoor.

Six decades on, Giles owns the same machine, although there was a long